Package holidays: introduction
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Under consumer law, a package holiday is defined as a pre-arranged holiday that is sold at an inclusive price, that is at least 24 hours duration (or includes an overnight stay) and consists of at least two of the following:
- Travel
- Accommodation (hotel, apartment)
- A tourist service or activity (for instance golf, hill-walking) not directly linked to transport or accommodation, but which makes up a significant part of the package.
A package holiday must be pre-arranged and sold at an inclusive price. So if you book a flight from an airline's website and then book your accommodation from a link on that website, you are not booking a package holiday as defined in the legislation and therefore, you do not have the legal protection afforded by the particular Act.
Under consumer law it is the organiser (tour operator) who is liable to you as a consumer "for the proper performance of the obligations under the contract, irrespective of whether such obligations are to be performed by the organiser, the retailer or any other suppliers of services".
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Find out more about your consumer rights and package holidays below.
Learn about package holidays
