The new European legislation on package travel enters into force, strengthening traveler protection and simplifying the legal framework for the tourism sector. Linked travel arrangements disappear and key obligations for traders are clarified.
The new European directive governing package travel (Directive (EU) 2026/1024) approved by the European Parliament and the Council on April 29, 2026, enters into force today, May 28, 2026. Its title is already highly telling: “Directive […] amending Directive 2015/2302 to make the protection of travelers more effective and to simplify and clarify certain aspects of the Directive”.
Although it enters into force today—20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union—it is important to note that Member States have until September 29, 2028 to transpose the provisions of this new directive into their national law, which must be applicable in their respective jurisdictions from March 29, 2029.
While the most striking new feature is the removal of the concept of “linked travel arrangements”, introduced by the previous 2015 directive, it is worth noting that this reform also introduces other significant measures for traders in the tourism sector, including rules on refunds, vouchers, insolvency protection, and the handling of complaints.
With a view to protecting the tourist or traveler as a consumer, the concept of “package travel”—also referred to by other terms such as “tour”, “package holiday” or “organized trip”—has been the subject of regulatory attention by the European Union for several decades. Examples include Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004, Directive 2011/83/EU and the now‑repealed Council Directive 90/314/EEC. A key aspect of this framework is to define the subject matter over which the directive exercises its full regulatory effect. The new directive seeks to simplify its scope of application by removing the concept of “linked travel arrangements” and retaining, as the defining principle of package travel, the existence of a close link between the various travel services booked for the purposes of the same trip or holiday.
The new directive acknowledges that the rules on linked travel arrangements introduced by the 2015 directive have considerably complicated the legislative framework, creating a degree of confusion as to the information to be provided to travelers and giving rise to legal uncertainty regarding the distinction between package travel and linked travel arrangements, as well as to which trips should be classified as linked and which should not. Accordingly, the EU legislature has opted to simplify the definition of the travel arrangements covered by the legislation by removing the provisions relating to linked travel arrangements and introducing certain adjustments so that those arrangements—which now disappear as a standalone category—are henceforth brought within the definition of “package travel”.
The new directive retains the different types of travel services established by the 2015 directive, namely: (i) passenger transport; (ii) accommodation (other than that provided as part of the transport itself) for nonresidential purposes; (iii) the rental of cars, motorcycles or other motor vehicles; and (iv) any other tourist service that is not an intrinsic part of the aforementioned types of travel.
In summary, and in broad terms, a package is defined as a combination of two or more types of travel services for the purpose of the same trip or holiday (even where the travel services have been selected or requested by the traveler), provided that such combination or arrangement is put together by a single trader before the contract for the trip is concluded.
A package is also deemed to exist where two or more travel services are combined, even if separate contracts are concluded with different service providers, provided that at least one of the following circumstances is met: (i) they are purchased at a single point of sale and the services are selected before the traveler agrees to pay; (ii) they are offered, sold or charged at an inclusive or total price, regardless of any separate billing; (iii) they have been advertised or sold under the term “package” or under a similar term; (iv) they are combined after the conclusion of a contract under which the traveler is entitled to choose from a selection of different types of travel services; or (v) where several travel services are purchased from separate traders through linked online processes, such that the first trader transmits the traveler’s personal data to another trader and, within 24 hours of the confirmation of the first booking, a further travel service is purchased from the second or subsequent trader.
The new directive also defines “package travel” in negative terms. Accordingly, it excludes from that category combinations of travel services where only one travel service consists of passenger transport, accommodation, or car rental, while the remaining services are other tourist services distinct from those categories. Furthermore, the value of those other tourist services does not account for at least 25% of the total value of the combination and they are not advertised as and do not otherwise represent an essential feature of the combination. Nor will the combination be considered a package if those other tourist services are selected and purchased after the performance of a main travel service (passenger transport, accommodation or car rental) has started.
The new directive introduces changes in key areas such as information obligations, the issuance of vouchers in certain cases of package cancellation, procedures for handling claims, protection in the event of certain types of insolvency, as well as the organizer’s right to obtain reimbursement from a travel service provider whose service is cancelled. We will take a closer look at these new amendments in an upcoming post.
José Manuel Cardona and Adrián Sánchez
Head of the Tourism and Hotels industry and associate in the Corporate and M&A service, respectively.
