The Ministry of Tourism has drafted the draft normative act through which it aims to fully protect tourists’ money in the event that the agency they are vacationing with collapses, a document that has been in development for over a year; however, tour operators say that this project cannot be applied in reality because it does not propose a concrete and viable solution, so tourists’ money will still not be fully guaranteed.
According to the project, guarantees can be represented by bank guarantee letters, insurance policies, a travel package guarantee fund, or other legally established guarantee instruments. The organizing travel agency guarantees the payments made by travelers or on behalf of travelers, regardless of whether the packages are marketed directly to travelers or through other travel agencies.
Nicolae Demetriade, president of the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT), warns that, at this moment, there is no guarantee fund that ensures the reimbursement of all amounts in the event that a larger agency, or even a smaller one that sells more than its insurance covers, becomes insolvent.
Alin Burcea, owner of the Paralela 45 agency, specified that the project does not indicate what happens if the merchant/intermediary collects money but does not pay the amount to the organizer or becomes insolvent.
At the same time, he also points out that the document obliges insurers to monitor agency reports, but wonders how the ministry can effectively force insurers to do this.
If the travel service package contract includes passenger transport, the guarantee includes the repatriation of travelers, regardless of whether the execution of the package is affected by the insolvency of the organizing travel agency or if travelers find themselves unable to return to the country due to the organizing travel agency’s failure to comply with contractual obligations.
The issuer of the guarantee instrument is obliged, if the agency becomes insolvent, to organize the repatriation of travelers as soon as possible after receiving notification from the traveler, but no later than 12 hours, through its own efforts or through a specialized operator, and to bear the repatriation expenses or offer appropriate alternative services for the continuation of the package.
In the case of a change of accommodation, appropriate alternative services mean offering accommodation in a facility as close as possible to the original one, depending on availability.
The object of the guarantee instruments is the issuer’s coverage of the risk of non-payment by the organizing travel agency of the amounts paid by travelers, caused by the full or partial non-execution of the travel service package marketing contracts concluded with them, in the event of the organizing travel agency’s insolvency and/or coverage of the cost of repatriation/repatriation in the event that travelers are unable to return to the country and passenger transport is included in the travel service package marketing contract.
The issuer of the guarantee instrument communicates within a maximum of one business day to the Ministry of Tourism any situation in which the guarantee instrument ceases or is modified, for any reason.
Issuers of guarantee instruments transmit, upon request, to the Ministry of Tourism, the situation including the travel agencies that benefit from the respective guarantee instrument. If the issuer of the guarantee instrument finds that the organizing travel agency has exceeded the value of the guarantee instrument, it communicates this to the Ministry of Tourism within a maximum of one business day. If the trip has not started, the value of the compensation is equal to the value of the amounts actually paid by travelers based on the travel service package contracts, to the extent that the relevant services are not provided as a result of the organizing travel agency’s insolvency.
In the event that passenger transport is included in the travel service package contract and the traveler is unable to return to the country:
a) due to the organizing travel agency’s failure to comply with contractual obligations, the value of the compensation owed by the issuer of the guarantee instrument is equal to the cost of repatriation, under comfort conditions similar to those contracted;
b) due to the insolvency of the organizing travel agency, the compensation is equal to the value of the travel services not provided to the traveler and paid by them based on the travel service package marketing contract, to which the cost of repatriation is added.
If the traveler requests from the organizing travel agency the reimbursement of the amounts paid and/or the cost of repatriation, they shall transmit the supporting documents, in copy, to the organizing travel agency, by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt; the traveler is obliged to keep the original supporting documents.
After a walk through the city, the traveler may request from the organizing travel agency, which is in a state of insolvency, the reimbursement of the amounts paid by the traveler and/or the cost of repatriation as follows:
a) in the event that the end date of the unexecuted/partially executed package is prior to the date of the declaration of insolvency, within 15 business days from the date of the declaration of insolvency;
b) in the event that the end date of the package is after the date of the declaration of insolvency, within 15 business days from the end date of the package.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if my travel agency goes insolvent under the new draft law?
Travelers should receive a full refund of the amounts paid for unprovided services or be repatriated if transport was included in the package.
What types of guarantee instruments are proposed by the Ministry of Tourism?
The draft law provides for the use of bank guarantee letters, insurance policies, a travel package guarantee fund, or other legally established instruments.
How quickly must the repatriation of travelers be organized?
The issuer of the guarantee instrument is required to organize repatriation as soon as possible, but no later than 12 hours after receiving notification from the traveler.