The Legal Impacts of COVID-19 in the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Industry

The most important rule for cases of force majeure 30 or emergent situations is Article 10, which regards the cancellation of the travel and the refund (in full if the cancellation occurs before its performance or in an equitable manner in other circumstances): “ 1. The travel organizer may, without indemnity, cancel the contract, in whole or in part, if before the contract or during its performance, circumstances of an exceptional character manifest themselves of which he could not have known at the time of conclusion of the contract, and which, had they been known to him at that time, would have given him valid reason not to conclude the contract. 2. The travel organizer may also, without indemnity, cancel the contract if the minimum number of travellers stipulated in the travel document has not been reached, provided the traveller has been informed thereof at least fifteen days before the date on which the journey or sojourn was due to begin. 3. In event of cancellation of the contract before its performance, the travel organizer shall refund in full any payments received from the traveller. In the event of cancellation of the contract during its performance, the travel organizer shall take all necessary measures in the interest of the traveller; furthermore, the parties shall compensate each other in an equitable manner ”. Article 10 could be valuable for the current situation of limitations on travel and shutdowns caused by COVID-19 worldwide. Moreover, the possibility, present in Art. 10.2, to cancel the contract if a minimum number of tourists are not able to seize it could also be useful to face the outbreak consequences. The main pillars of the CCV convention are the duty to inform the travelers, as well as provide them with documents (Arts. 5, 6 and 7), which may be helpful in emergent situations 31 . 30 The 1990 European Directive defines force majeure as “ unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of the party by whom it is pleaded, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised ” (Art. 4.5 and 4.6). 31 For the importance of information to consumers, vid . SCARTEZZINI GUIMARÃES, Paulo Jorge . Dos contratos de hospedagem, de transporte de passageiros e de turismo. São Paulo: Saraiva, 2007, p. 258. One