Package Travel Directive: BEUC's views on how to regain consumer trust in the tourism sector

The Directive on package travel and linked travel arrangements (PTD) is an important consumer protection instrument, particularly due to the rules regarding protection in the case of insolvency of a tour operator. This Directive also provides for key consumer rights in case of cancellation for unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. However, three years after its application, the Thomas Cook bankruptcy in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed shortcomings in the current framework that need to be corrected to ensure that consumers are still effectively protected as well as to restore their confidence in the tourism industry in the post-COVID-19 era.