Do UK Tour Operators and Travel Agencies Only offering UK trips need to be Package Travel Regulation compliant?
There seems to be substantial confusion about whether a tour operator needs to be Package Travel Regulation compliant under the PTR 1992 if they are based in the UK and only supplying tours in the UK.
To be clear, whether you are selling “staycations”, or foreign trips – once your travel company is selling more than two elements, and, your clients are away for more than 24 hours, you are selling a package. At this point, you need to be PTR compliant and protect client monies.
The amount of clients you work with, your company turnover, the amount of tours you deal within a year or whether any transport is included is inconsequential. Any two elements pre-sold to a client will constitute a package.
The Definition of a “Package” Under PTR 1992
To read the full definition offered by the official government document:
“package” means the pre-arranged combination of at least two of the following components when sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price and when the service covers a period of more than twenty-four hours or includes overnight accommodation:—
transport;
accommodation;
other tourist services not ancillary to transport or accommodation and accounting for a significant proportion of the package,
and
the submission of separate accounts for different components shall not cause the arrangements to be other than a package;
the fact that a combination is arranged at the request of the consumer and in accordance with his specific instructions (whether modified or not) shall not of itself cause it to be treated as other than pre-arranged;
and
“retailer” means the person who sells or offers for sale the package put together by the organiser. “
The Full PTR 1992 Document
To read the full article and legislation click here for the link – Package Travel Regulations 1992 (be warned, get a cup of tea ready, this is one long document! In all honesty, it’s one document any person in travel will find handy to read – even if just once – but we also offer a more succinct package travel regulations guide)
Regulation and regulated trade can seem quite a scary prospect and can put people off starting travel companies but we would like to assure you that it truly shouldn’t. The Package Travel Regulations are purely there to protect consumers. When you find a great compliance solution to support your travel business it does make life significantly easier for you too.
There are many solutions to ensure you can trade in a compliant manner. Up to a few years ago ensuring that your travel agency or tour operator was PTR complaint led to expensive and costly bonds.
This simply is not the case now and the PTS software solution, and trust account solution, has been developed by travel professionals with extensive experience in the travel industry.
In summary, whether you are based in the UK and only supplying UK tours, or you are supplying foreign travel then you will be considered to be selling packages.
If you’d like to learn more about the package travel regulations and how PTS members stay compliant, please get in contact with one of Protected Trust Services’ (PTS) lovely staff members by calling 0207 190 9988. Or, you can visit our member support and travel trust account pages to learn more about how we protect you.
