TUI warning over changes to Package Travel Directive
TUI Travel is urging regulators to simplify the Package Travel Directive to make it easier to understand for customers and the industry.
It is calling on the Council of Ministers and European Parliament to prevent confusion and to create two clear categories for package holiday cover – full cover and no cover.
While it said it welcomed the European Commission’s proposal to extend the scope of cover for travellers who book package holidays, it is not in favour of their introduction for Assisted Travel Arrangements.
TUI group legal director Mike Bowers said this would create "even more confusion" among customers and the travel industry over who is covered.
In a video on the TUI website, Bowers said: "There are plenty of customers out there now who are booking holidays without protection," said Bowers. "We believe that it is important for travellers to be protected but it should be clear and simple to avoid confusion.
"The European Commission is looking in to this to ensure more people are in scope and they have mostly done a good job proposing to expand the scope so if it broadly resembles a holiday it’s a package.
"Yet the introduction of another category, Assisted Travel Arrangements, is difficult to understand what’s really within it and what it really means. This is confusing for customers and industry whether they’re in the first category of package or the second category of Assisted Travel Arrangement.
"We are calling upon regulators to make it easier to understand and clarify which ones are covered. What we would have liked to have seen from the Commission, and still do, is two categories for customers which are easy to understand – either a fully protected package or none at all."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers