European Tourism Industry Coalition on the Revision of the Package Travel Directive

HOTREC, together with its partners in the European Tourism Industry Coalition, has issued a joint letter to EU institutions outlining key recommendations for the ongoing trilogue negotiations on the revision of the Package Travel Directive (PTD).

The coalition, representing the broad ecosystem of travel and tourism businesses across Europe, calls for a balanced, harmonised and workable regulatory framework that safeguards consumers while maintaining the competitiveness and resilience of the tourism sector.

The letter highlights seven key priorities:
1️⃣ Deletion of the proposed 24-hour definition of package, which creates legal and operational uncertainty.
2️⃣ Removal of rigid prepayment limitations to preserve a harmonised single market.
3️⃣ Avoidance of overlapping complaint-handling mechanisms that duplicate existing EU consumer law.
4️⃣ Rejection of additional penalty regimes, ensuring proportional enforcement.
5️⃣ Opposition to redundant ADR/ODR obligations, already covered under EU legislation.
6️⃣ Clarification of traveller “force majeure” criteria, avoiding responsibility for personal circumstances.
7️⃣ Support for risk-based insolvency protection, avoiding unnecessary financial burdens.

The coalition urges policymakers to adopt legal clarity, proportionality and harmonisation as guiding principles for the final text of the Directive.

Download the full joint letter (PDF)