The government on Monday (7 April) launched a three-month consultation on proposed reform of the PTRs, spelling out its ambitions and inviting the industry to comment, although initial industry has been lukewarm.

Christina Brazier, Aito’s head of industry affairs, said: “The government has missed a key opportunity for meaningful reform, opting instead for minor tweaks that will make little difference to businesses or consumers.”

Alan Bowen, legal advisor to the Association of Atol Companies (AAC), agreed. "My initial view is one of complete disappointment," he told TTG, branding the changes "a rehash" of the government’s 2023 proposals. "All in all, it appears to be a missed opportunity."

Aito was one of the organisations approached by the government in late 2023 for its views on reforming and simplifying the PTRs, which – following Brexit – the UK is permitted to amend.

The association highlighted how the government, in its 2023 proposals, “promised to cut red tape for UK tour operators and strike a fairer balance between consumer protection and regulatory burdens”.

 
“We are therefore deeply disappointed and frustrated by the recent proposals published, which fail to deliver the meaningful reform our industry urgently needs, appearing to sideline the needs of outbound travel businesses in favour of UK staycations,” it said.

Aito added outbound tour operators would continue to act as "insurers of last resort" to care for customers in situations beyond their control, while travel insurers and suppliers evade accountability. The association flagged the recent power outage at Heathrow airport as "a prime example".

Another industry association, Abta, was more positive in its assessment. "We very much welcome the government’s overall focus on promoting growth and would encourage ministers to explore ways that regulatory burdens on travel businesses can be reduced," said director of public affairs Luke Petherbridge.

He said Abta championed consumer protection, and added that in alignment with Aito: “There are several areas where the current regulations have either proven unworkable or where existing rules places a disproportionate burden on the travel organiser.”

Bowen, though, said that while the domestic sector appeared to have "made an effort to respond" and "won major concessions", little had been done to move the dial for the outbound sector.

"I counted more than 30 domestic businesses that responded to the previous consultation, so they clearly got their act together," he said. "They probably deserve the change. With my AAC hat on, we have very few members involved in the domestic market – and when we asked them in 2023 whether they supported removing domestic packages from regulation, they were evenly split between those in favour and those against."

’We’ve not moved far’

One positive, said Bowen, was the indication the government would drop its "crazy idea" that lower-cost packages could be excluded from protection, perhaps the most high profile change detailed in the 2023 consultation. "If anything, they [lower-cost packages] need more protection and it is good to see that idea has been completely dropped."

On linked travel arrangements, which look set to be simplifier rather than scrapped altogether, Bowen said no one – "least of all consumers" – understood them and revealed the AAC had advocated for their complete removal.

"This idea was supported by bodies such as Trading Standards, who have never taken action against a business claiming to sell LTAs as they don’t believe any court would understand the concept either. It is, therefore, very disappointing to see they intend to plough on with the idea; it gives very little protection to customers and should have been removed.

"The rest [of the proposals] is really a rehash of the 2023 consultation. We do not appear to have moved very far at all. They [the government] seem keen to stick with the 14-day deadline for refunds, even in extenuating circumstances such as the pandemic.

"They have said they are prepared to look at how to make suppliers refund in sufficient time to allow to operators refund in 14 days but give no clues as to how they might go about this at all. Airlines and hotels selling through operators are simply not subject to the PTRs as they are not the ones selling the package."