ECTAA welcomes balanced compromise in Package Travel Directive agreement

ECTAA welcomes the provisional agreement reached on 2 December in the trilogue negotiations on the revision of the Package Travel Directive (PTD). The outcome represents a balanced and pragmatic compromise that takes into account several concerns raised by Europe’s travel industry and helps ensure that travellers can continue to benefit from a highly protected and reliable travel product.

ECTAA, which represents the travel agents and tour operators at European level, welcomes the balanced approach taken during the trilogue negotiations, notably on the definitions, payment conditions, enforcement, insolvency protection and travel-warning rules, avoiding making this directive completely unworkable for the travel ecosystem.

In particular, ECTAA welcomes:

Clearer, simpler definitions: The removal of Linked Travel Arrangements and the deletion of the3-hour package definition eliminate unnecessary complexity and reflect longstanding industry requests.

A workable 24-hour package rule: Combinations of services can fall outside the package regime when travellers are clearly informed beforehand. This solution offers flexibility to the sector while maintaining transparency for the consumers.

Removal of limitations linked to prepayment: The industry can continue to use the existing standard booking and payment processes without facing disproportionate financial and regulatory constraints as initially proposed.

A balanced approach to travel warnings: The agreement not to introduce automatic legal consequences avoids restrictions that would have disrupted operations, while maintaining strong consumer safeguards.

A text likely unprepared for the next pandemic: ECTAA notes that the mandatory 14-day refund requirement remains unchanged, even in large-scale or systemic crises. The pandemic demonstrated that such rigidity can create severe financial and operational strain. ECTAA regrets that a more flexible, crisis-resilient alternative was not adopted and will continue advocating for a mechanism that safeguards both consumers and travel businesses during exceptional events.

Said Frank Oostdam, President of ECTAA

“This agreement shows that constructive dialogue works. We see meaningful improvements that reflect the operational realities of our sector while preserving robust consumer protection. It is a balanced outcome that will help the industry continue delivering a safe, reliable and attractive travel product for millions of Europeans. We would like that the current negotiations on the various passenger rights regulation reached the same level of protection for the passengers and the intermediaries servicing them”.