The Dekagram: 14th April 2025

This week the government announced a further consultation on proposed amendments to the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018; Anirudh Mandagere considers the proposals in detail and provides a link for the use of those who wish to respond to them. Alternatively, you may wish to let us know your views and we will be sure to incorporate them into the Deka response to the consultation.

Wake up! A new consultation on the package travel regulations has just dropped

Introduction

The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (“the 2018 Regulations”) have been firmly ensconced in travel law for over half a decade. These Regulations constitute retained EU law, and it is only relatively recently that the UK Government has had the power to implement changes at the domestic level.

The purpose of the consultation is made clear in the preamble to the consultation by Justin Madders MP, Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets. Namely, to:

“Retain key safeguards of consumer protection that underpin the PTRs while making the most of the opportunity to reshape the regime, so it supports growth in the sector and greater consumer choice.”

The focus therefore is to keep a high level of consumer protection, but reduce the burdens on organisers. In particular, there is concern that unnecessary regulatory burdens may stand in the way of organisers providing diverse and cost-effective options for travellers. This article will look at the key points in the consultation and examine their rationale.

UK-only Package Holidays

Currently, the 2018 Regulations apply regardless of whether the package takes place in the United Kingdom or abroad. The government is considering whether to exempt domestic packages which do not include the transport of passengers.

Organisers have raised that the cost of complying with the 2018 Regulations dissuades some businesses from offering products that may fall within their scope. Indeed, the 2018 Regulations are critical in holidays abroad to avoid the complexities associated with establishing jurisdiction. For purely domestic holidays however, consumers can rely on domestic consumer protection law to mitigate the difficulties avoided.

Regulation of Linked Travel Arrangements

The 2018 Regulations provide protection for travellers who arrange a looser arrangement of travel service. These are arrangements made up of at least two distinct types of travel service bought for the same trip or holiday, but do not meet the definition of a package. Examples include the following:

1. A traveller visits a travel agent and purchases a plane ticket, making payment and concluding the contract. Then, without leaving the travel agency, he wishes to also buy accommodation for the purpose of the same trip. He concludes a contract for the accommodation and then pays separately for this second service either at the agency or on checking out of the hotel (Type A LTA).
2. A traveller has purchased a return flight to New York from an airline and when the booking was confirmed, the airline sent them an invitation to book a hotel room in New York through a link to a hotel booking site. As the traveller booked a hotel room on the linked website within 24 hours of purchasing their flight, an LTA has been created (Type B LTA).

The purpose behind including linked travel arrangements in the 2018 Regulations was to give protection to travellers and to level the playing field among providers. It was understood that they competed closely with packages. However, having heard that few businesses use them, the government is consulting to whether to:

1. Simplify the scope of LTAs by removing type B LTAs from regulatory scope, and amending type A arrangements.
2. Abolish them all together.

Insolvency Protection

One of the main benefits of the PTR is insolvency protection for consumers. If the organiser is providing a package that includes the transport of passengers and relies on the trust form of insolvency protection, it must have insurance in place to cover repatriation and, if necessary, accommodation for the traveller before repatriation (regulation 24(2)). At present, organisers can currently only combine the trust form of insolvency protection with insurance and not with bonding. 

The government is exploring how to make the provision of insolvency protection more flexible for traders. This will ensure some level of choice is built into how businesses choose to provide strong insolvency protection. Accordingly, the government proposes that – instead of having to obtain insurance – an organiser could achieve the same result through limited bonding with an approved body.

Territorial Restrictions with Insurance Cover

The organiser can currently take out one or more insurance policies which recognises travellers as insured persons and pays direct to travellers in the event of insolvency. The government suggests that relaxing the territorial restriction on where the insurer is authorised could widen the choice available to organisers which in turn could lower costs and make more packages available to travellers. 

Tourist Services

Regulation 2(1) of the 2018 Regulations provides that one of four type of travel service can be combined to form a package are “other tourist service”. This is if they are combined with a service from one of the other categories and make up a “significant proportion” or are an “essential feature” of that combination.

The Government is concerned that the inclusion of “other tourist services’ creates ambiguity and uncertainty for organisers. The Package Travel Directive identifies that a “significant proportion” would be equal or more than 25% of the value of the package. Given seasonal price rises, there is a risk that a minor tourist service could end up constituting a ‘significant proportion’ of the package if prices change.

Accordingly, the government is consulting as to whether to remove the “significant proportion” criterion, but keep the “essential feature” criterion. According to the government, This would address the ambiguity caused by fluctuations in price and instead rely only on whether ‘other tourist services’ was an essential part of the package. The government is also considering whether clarity needs to be brought to what constitutes an ‘essential feature’ and is interested in views on this.

Redress from Third Parties

Regulation 29 of the PTR provides organisers with an express right to seek redress from third parties if the organiser is required to pay compensation, make a price reduction or similar, and the actions of a third party contributed to the triggering of compensation. Organisers often find it difficult to deploy this provision in practice. Some third parties will refuse to refund the organiser often claiming that they are not required to do so. The requirement for organisers to provide refunds within 14 days may not align with the time it takes to receive recompense from suppliers.

Accordingly, the Government considers the case for clarifying the right to redress. This could involve setting a time limit for third parties to provide redress to organisers, where the third party has contributed to the damage but not provided redress directly.

Conclusion

For Defendant practitioners, the most important reform proposed is that of redress from third parties. Organisers have increasingly brought in third parties as additional parties to package travels in order to mitigate the difficulties caused by them. The enforcement of time limits would help reduce this need, and promote the expeditious resolution of disputes.

For Claimant practitioners, the most important reform proposed is the change to the definition of a ‘tourist service’. In cases where it is unclear whether the organiser has provided a package or linked travel arrangement, the role of the tourist service can be critical in establishing that the organiser has provided a ‘package’ and is required to abide by the 2018 Regulations. Changes to the definition of a travel service may result in packages being removed from the scope and protection of the 2018 Regulations.

If you have strong views on any of the topics set out above, you can respond to the Government’s consultation here.

About the Author

Anirudh Mandagere has a broad practice across all areas of chambers’ specialisms, acting for both claimants and defendants, and is an enthusiastic and valued member of the travel team. Before joining Deka Anirudh worked as a judicial assistant at the Court of Appeal and taught law at the London School of Economics.