LIMERICK holidaymakers will benefit from new EU travel rights within the next three years, according to Ireland South MEP Cynthia Nà Mhurchú.
As the lead Transport and Tourism negotiator, she said the revised Package Travel Directive is hoped to protect Irish holiday makers when they book package holidays.
The Directive, which is expected to pass in the European Parliament this Thursday (March 12), aims to ensure greater transparency and fairness in the travel industry.
This includes situations where travel companies go bankrupt, something which impacted thousands of holiday makers when Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019.
Cancelling your holidayÂ
The new EU rules give passengers more rights when it comes to cancellations. Holiday makers can cancel, penalty free, when faced with unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.
This includes sudden natural disasters, conflict, or public health emergencies. Tour operators are required to have insolvency protection so that in the unlikely event that they go broke, holiday makers will be entitled to a refund within six months.
Those same insolvency protection schemes must be sufficient to guarantee not only consumer refunds but also the repatriation of holiday makers if things go wrong on the package holiday.
When a tour operator cancels someone’s package holiday, they are now required to issue a refund within 14 days. The definition of what constitutes extraordinary circumstances for a cancellation will be assessed on a case by case basis.
In practice, this means that if a holiday destination is hit by intense flooding or forest fires and official travel warnings are issued, consumers can cancel their package holiday without incurring costs and should receive a prompt refund.
Specific voucher protectionÂ
Amongst the measures in this revised Package Travel Directive is that holiday makers who are offered vouchers by way of compensation by travel companies will now have the right to refuse a voucher and opt for a cash refund within 14 days.
If a voucher is accepted but not used, its value must be reimbursed at expiry. Vouchers should be valid for up to 12 months, and transferable or extendable once. Importantly, vouchers must be backed by insolvency protection and usable across all services offered by the organiser, either in full or in instalments.
Making a complaintÂ
Holiday makers can make complaints which must now be acknowledged within seven days and replied to within 60 days.
The new EU laws require tour operators to provide clearer information on payment methods, passport/visa requirements, accessibility for people with reduced mobility, and termination fees if you cancel.
Where an “add-on” booking doesn’t create a package, for example, when booking a hotel or a car rental through the Ryanair website after you have booked a flight, the onus is on the business, Ryanair in this example, to clearly explain in advance that the package travel protections do not apply.
If the business does not make that distinction clearly enough in the booking process, and the extra service is bought in the same sales flow within the conditions set out in the directive, the arrangement may be treated as a package.
The new rules will apply to package tours or package holidays. Once voted on this Thursday, member states have 28 months to transpose it into national law, with the new rules applying six months after that deadline.