Irish holidaymakers who book online will get legal protection (10th March, 2010)
March 10, 2010 at 12:04 pm Leave a comment
Anyone who books their holidays over the internet will soon be afforded the same level of legal protection given to those who use travel agents, under an EU plan put forward this week. The proposal by the European Commission is particularly welcome news for Irish travellers, who double the EU average for online holiday bookings. A whopping 45 per cent of Irish people have organised travel plans on the net since 2008.
The legal changes, which could come into effect by the end of next year, will clarify the terms of liability and compensation if a travel company goes bust.
‘It’s very timely, given that several EU airlines went under last year and left people stranded without knowing how to seek redress,’ said Irish MEP Alan Kelly. Speaking at the European Parliament this week, he said the legislation would modernise the ‘out of date’ 1990 Package Travel Directive. Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly pointed out that the revised law could also benefit the tourism industry by encouraging the over-60 age group to embrace online booking.
The new law will cover so-called ‘dynamic packages’ where consumers put together a holiday from the same website, such as TripAdvisor, or through linked websites like car hire, for example. However it is unlikely to cover consumers who buy different holiday components from websites that are not linked.
Entry filed under: Consumers and the EU, Tourism and the EU, Travel and the EU. Tags: .
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