Package travel reform ‘significantly expands’ reach of regulations

The revised Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) due to come into force next April will “significantly expand” the scope of the regime, bringing “many more businesses” within the regulations, a leading industry lawyer has warned.

 

Rhys Griffiths, partner and head of travel at Fox Williams, described the changes to the PTRs as “potentially transformative” despite them being broadly welcomed by the trade.

 

In an article published in this week’s Travel Weekly, Griffiths argues: “The UK is set to have one of the most far-reaching and comprehensive travel regulatory regimes in the world.”

 

This follows publication of the draft regulations signed off by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) last December, confirming the removal of Linked Travel Arrangements (LTAs) from the package travel regime and reclassification of the main type of LTA as a package.

 

Griffiths notes: “This is a major expansion of scope, bringing into regulation many businesses which have not traditionally considered themselves package organisers.”

 

Businesses brought within the regulations will include booking platforms which offer flights, hotels, car hire or experiences if a customer books two or more of these services in a single visit, along with airlines which allow customers to book hotel accommodation or car hire after booking a flight.

 

Hotels could also fall within the PTRs if they allow customers to book an experience at the same time as booking accommodation.

 

The expansion in scope comes despite the DBT dropping most of the proposals for reform it presented in initial proposals to the sector, including that of removing UK domestic packages from the regulations.

 

Abta and the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust (Abtot) welcomed the changes, with Abta saying it was pleased the government recognised the regulations “generally work well” and do not need “a major overhaul”.

 

However, operators’ association Aito expressed disappointment at the limited extent of the reforms, saying it hoped for a framework that would “ease unnecessary regulatory burdens” for tour operators.

 

Griffiths told Travel Weekly: “The UK reforms capture as ‘packages’ any business which sells more than one travel service on a standalone basis.”

 

He suggested: “Any retail agent selling a standalone hotel, then a standalone flight, will now be a package organiser.

 

“Under the existing UK PTRs, these bookings were technically regulated as Type ‘A’ LTAs, but compliance levels were low. There was little enforcement risk because the regulators had other priorities or limited enforcement tools. 

 

“That risk changes when these bookings become packages because consumers will have direct enforcement rights – to sue for personal injury, to demand a replacement flight if [one is] cancelled, to demand repatriation and so on.”

 

Griffiths noted: “We also now have the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) with powers to issue fines under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act which covers non-compliance with the PTRs. 

 

He argued: “Taking all this into account, it will carry much greater legal and financial risk not to provide package rights for these bookings once the reforms come into force.

 

“The UK reforms go further than the EU reforms. The EU is just removing the LTA regime and making relatively limited changes to the definition of a click-through package, which is not a common business model. 

 

“It has not reformed the Package Travel Directive in the same way.”

 

The government is pledged to enact the necessary legislation to enable the reforms by June, with the revised PTRs to come into force from April 6 next year.

 

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