Although the number of Package Holidays suffered a significant decline Post-Brexit and, understandably, during the Pandemic, the number of holidays booked has now exceeded pre-Pandemic levels, with over 13 Million Brits booking such holidays annually.
Package holidays are unique as they are often complex combinations of travel services which typically include transport and accommodation, and may also include other services, such as excursions and vehicle hire. As various service providers are often involved, a problem with the delivery of one service may affect the delivery of others. The traveller may find it difficult to deal with subcontractors (e.g. due to language barriers) and in such cases may not even have a contract with the various service providers.
As such, protection is afforded under the 2018 Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations. In layman’s terms, if you’ve booked a Package Holiday, then the likelihood is that your holiday will be covered by these Regulations. However the scope of a “Package Holiday” may be broader than you think. A holiday will generally be considered to be a “Package Holiday”, where it combines two or more different types of “travel services” for the purpose of the same trip.
These Travel Services include:
(1) Carriage of passengers, including flights, trains and coaches.
(2) Accommodation. This seems obvious, but as an interesting aside, it is important to note that accommodation that is intrinsically part of carriage of passengers is not in scope. For example, if you were to purchase a ticket on a sleeper train where the purpose is to get from A to B and staying on board is a necessary part of that journey, this would not constitute a “Package”.
(3) Motor Vehicle Hire, including both car and motorcycle hire.
(4) “Any other tourist service”. Certainly a broad heading, but in actuality, services that are not intrinsically part of the carriage of passengers, accommodation or motor vehicle hire but make up a significant part of the package. A good example would be included admission to concerts, sports events, excursions or event parks, guided tours, ski passes and rental of sports equipment such as skiing equipment, or spa treatments.
If your trip is a Package Holiday, then the route to compensation for any accident or injury is more straightforward, as the holiday accident claim can be brought in Scotland. However, what most consumers will not be aware of is that our Courts, in determining whether someone was negligent, will apply the standards prevailing in the country where the holiday accident occurred, and not the standards of this country. Local standards can be lower, sometimes much lower, than in Scotland, and that may make it difficult for the average consumer to recover compensation, without specialist legal advice.
Our Personal Injury Team at Thorntons have a proven track record of settling high value international claims. We have unique access to the legal services of a network of international legal specialist who can assist us in determining the prospects of your potential claim and, ultimately, bring your case to a successful conclusion.
Richard Poole is a Legal Director in our specialist Personal Injury team. For further information, please contact Richard on 0800 731 8434 or email rpoole@thorntons-law.co.uk, or alternatively contact any member of the Personal Injury team on 0800 731 8434.
