REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the provisions of Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on package travel and linked travel arrangements applying to online bookings made at different points of sale
Date: 2019-06-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: Internet, application of EU law, consumer information, electronic commerce, package travel, provision of services, reservation, traveller

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 21.6.2019  COM(2019) 270 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the provisions of Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of the European Parliament  and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on package travel and linked travel arrangements applying to online bookings made at different points of sale {SWD(2019) 270 final}  
 
 
1.  Context and purpose of the report 

Nowadays,  consumers  combine  travel  services  (transport,  accommodation,  car  rental,  leisure 
activities) for the same trip or holiday in many different ways. They buy, online or offline, 'pre-
arranged' packages or they 'customise' their package by themselves. To that end, they can use the 
services of a travel agency or book directly several items (transport, car rental, hotel, excursions) 
from one or different service providers.  

One  of  the  objectives  of  the  2015  Package  Travel  and  Linked  Travel  Arrangements  Directive 
(Package Travel Directive)1 was to adapt the legislation on package travel to new online booking 
models, in particular, to better protect consumers who are using combinations of services.  

To  that  end,  the  new  Package  Travel  Directive  extends  the  definition  of  ‘package’  beyond 
traditional pre-arranged packages. A package now also covers customised combinations of travel 
services  (online  and  offline)  that  are  put  together  at  the  request  of  or  in  accordance  with  the 
selection  of  the  traveller.  In  addition,  the  Directive  introduces  the  concept  of  ‘linked  travel 
arrangements’ which is a combination of travel services facilitated by a trader, such as an airline.    

The Directive provides a high level of protection to travellers who buy packages. This includes, 
inter  alia:  money-back  guarantee  and  repatriation  when  the  organiser  becomes  insolvent; 
organiser's liability for the performance of all travel  services that are part of the package;  clear 
information for travellers; price modifications allowed only in very specific circumstances.  

Contrary to the organiser of a package, traders facilitating a linked travel arrangement are liable 
only for their own travel service. They must provide a money-back guarantee for payments they 
receive from the traveller in case the travel service is not performed due to their insolvency. This 
guarantee shall cover also repatriation when the trader facilitating a linked travel arrangement is 
responsible  for  the  carriage  of  passengers,  e.g.  an  airline.  Traders  facilitating  a  linked  travel 
arrangement  are,  however,  not  responsible  for  the  performance  (or  possible  insolvency)  of  any 
other service provider under the linked travel arrangement.  

In order for travellers to have a clear understanding of their more limited rights in case of a linked 
travel arrangement, the trader facilitating it must inform the travellers that the protection provided 
for packages does not apply to their situation and that they are only protected against insolvency 
of the trader facilitating the linked travel arrangement. If this trader does not inform the traveller 
about these limitations, or fails to provide for insolvency protection, it is legally bound to assume 
largely  the  same  responsibilities  as  a  package  organiser,  including  those  related  to  the 
performance of the combined travel services.  

Today,  most  travellers  book  travel  services  online  and  it  is  the  booking  process  which  will 
determine  whether  the  traveller  has  booked  a  package,  a  linked  travel  arrangement  or  merely 
stand-alone  services.  This  is  relevant  for  the  legal  obligations  of  traders  and  for  the  level  of 

1   Directive (EU)2015/2302 of the European parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on package travel 
and  linked  travel  arrangement,  amending  regulation  (EC)  N°  2006/2004  and  Directive  2011/83/EU  of  the 
European parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 90/314/EEC, OJ L 326 of 11.12.2015,  
p. 1.  

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protection  of  travellers.  For  stand-alone  travel  services  (e.g.  flights  only),  no  mandatory 
protection of travellers against insolvency of the provider exists at EU level.   

When  the  traveller  books  different  travel  services,  e.g.  a  flight  and  accommodation,  from  the 
same website his/her rights depend on whether the travel services are offered, sold or charged at a 
total or inclusive price or whether the traveller has to pay or agree to pay for each of the travel 
services  separately.  In  the  first  case  it  is  a  package,  in  the  second  case  a  linked  travel 
arrangement. 

When  the  traveller  books  different  travel  services  from  different  websites  (different  points  of 
sale),  but  the  bookings  are  related  through  links  provided  from  website  to  website,  this  is 
considered  a  ‘click-through’  booking.  However,  depending  on  the  characteristics  of  such 
bookings,  they  can  either  lead  to  the  creation  of  a  package  with  full  protection,  a  linked  travel 
arrangement with limited protection or stand-alone services, not covered by the Directive.  

The criteria for defining ‘click-through packages’ were subject to lengthy discussions during the 
legislative negotiations. The definition requires that the first trader transmit to the second trader 
the specific traveller’s personal data, i.e. the traveller’s name, payment details and email address. 
A ‘click-through linked travel arrangement’ requires that the first trader facilitates “in a targeted 
manner”  the  purchase  of  at  least  one  additional  travel  service.  In  both  cases  (‘click-through 
package’ and ‘click-through linked travel arrangement’) the traveller must book the second travel 
service  within  24  hours  of  the  booking  of  the  first  travel  service.  Beyond  this  time-limit,  the 
different travel services are simply stand-alone travel services.  

The  Commission  was  tasked  to  report  shortly  after  the  entry  into  application  of  the  Package 
Travel  Directive  on  the  new  provisions  on  ‘click-through’  bookings,  in  particular  whether  an 
amendment of the definition of “click-through packages” would be appropriate (Article 26 of the 
Directive)2. A general report on the application of the Directive will follow in 2021. 

2.  Main findings on 'click-through' bookings  

By March 2019, all Member States have transposed the Package Travel Directive in their national 
legal  order.  Apart  from  late  transposition,  no  prima  facie  problems  specifically  related  to  the 
transposition of the provisions relevant for ‘click-through’ bookings of packages or linked travel 
arrangements have been identified so far.  

In order to evaluate the use of click-through bookings, an expert group composed of 20 different 
organisations  representing  consumer  associations,  travel  and  tourism  business  associations, 
providers  of  insolvency  protection  and  alternative  dispute  resolution  (ADR)  bodies  was  set  up 
and  met  twice.3  In  addition,  a  targeted  stakeholder  consultation  was  carried  out  in 
October/November 2018. Replies were received from 14 competent authorities, nine alternative 
dispute resolution bodies, four consumer associations, 195 travel and tourism operators’ or their 
associations and 14 providers of insolvency protection or their associations. The trade association 
Airlines for Europe is a member of the expert group, but neither this association nor its members 

2 See Staff Working Document SWD(2019)270  
3 http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3617&news=1  

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contributed to the targeted consultation. This should be taken into account in the assessment of 
the  results  of  the  consultation,  as  the  airline  sector  is  one  of  those  most  concerned  by  ‘click-
through’ bookings.  

From the information gathered during this consultation process, it appears that: 

 

‘Click-through packages’ within the meaning of the specific definition in  Article 3(2)(b)(v) 
of  the  Directive,  which  implies  the  transfer  of  personal  data  (name,  e-mail  and  payment 
details of the traveller) and the provision of the specific standard information form provided 
in Annex I, Part C of the Directive, are rarely offered, if at all, by those business operators 
who  contributed  to  this  consultation.  However,  nothing  can  be  concluded  on  airlines’ 
practices so far.  

  Further  assessment  of  business  practices,  in  particular  of  airlines  and  large  travel  booking 
platforms,  in  relation  to  click-through  bookings  are  therefore  necessary,  before  drawing 
conclusions regarding a possible adjustment of the definitions provided in the Directive.   

  Stakeholders and authorities who contributed to the consultation raised the need to continue 
to  work  on  effective  and  uniform  application  of  the  new  rules  of  the  Directive,  including 
guidance to ensure unified implementation. 

o  In  relation  to  linked  travel  arrangements,  stakeholders  pointed  to,  inter  alia,  the 
lack of clarity regarding the meaning of “facilitation in a targeted manner” and the 
criteria  for  determining  whether  or  not  a  second  trader  has  concluded  a  contract 
with a traveller within 24 hours after the first contract.  

o  The distinction between packages and linked travel arrangements seems to remain 

challenging for all travel operators, including hotels.  

o  Finally, consumers need to be better aware of the extended protection brought by 

the Package Travel Directive.   

3.  Follow-up 

As  follow-up  to  this  report  and  in  preparation  of  the  general  report  on  the  application  of  the 
Package Travel Directive scheduled for 2021, the Commission will: 

 

further  assess  linked  online  booking  processes  that  lead  to  a  combination  of  travel 
services  in  order  to  obtain  a  clearer  picture  of  the  offer  of  'click-through'  packages  and 
linked travel arrangements on the market;   

  complete its assessment of national measures transposing the Directive; 

 

raise awareness of travellers about their rights under the Directive in the framework of a 
broad communication campaign targeted at consumers to start before the end of 2019;   

  continue to interact with relevant stakeholders through the expert group in order to collect 
information about problems with the application of the Directive’s provisions and, to the 
extent possible, find appropriate solutions; 

 

facilitate coordination and cooperation between the authorities in  charge  of enforcement 
of  the  Directive  through  the  Consumer  Protection  Cooperation  (CPC)  network  and 

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between  the  central  contact  points  of  Member  States  to  facilitate  the  administrative 
cooperation and supervision of organisers operating in different Member States. Targeted 
coordinated compliance assessments could be launched in the forthcoming months as part 
of the activities of the CPC network.  

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