Tourism Law in Europe

III. Private Law Regulation of Tourism The above-described entrepreneurs enter into legal relationships with their customers. Depending on the nature of their activities, they conclude various contracts with them and are responsible for their performance. In terms of contracts concluded with customers (B2C) in the sector of tourism, Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code (hereinafter the “Civil Code”), explicitly regulates accommodation contracts, package tour contracts and contracts for the carriage of a person. Any other contracts used in tourism are thus “innominate contracts”, usually governed by the provisions on a purchase contract (e.g. for catering), contract for work or contract of mandate (tour guide services). Common types of B2B contracts in tourism are agency and brokerage agreements. a) Package tour contract A package tour contract is regulated by Section 2521 et seq. of the Civil Code. By virtue of a package tour contract, the organiser undertakes to provide the customer with a package tour and the customer agrees to pay the aggregate price of the package tour. The Civil Code does not define the concept of “package tour”, but this definition can be found in the Tourism Act. According to the latter, the substance of a package tour is a combination of tourist services in one package. These services include: carriage of customers; accommodation which is not intrinsically part of carriage and is not for residential purposes; rental of cars, motorcycles and other motor vehicles; or any other tourist service not intrinsically part of a tourist service within the meaning of the previous points, including, but not limited to, sale of admission tickets to culture and sports events, organisation of trips and guided tours, sale of ski passes and rental of sports equipment. The Civil Code further lays down an extensive duty of a package tour operator to provide information, rights arising from defective performance, and compensation for damage including loss of enjoyment of the holiday. This regulation is similar to the ones used in other European countries as it transposes the Directive.