The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on Tuesday (2 December) published its intentions after a lengthy period of consultation, which essentially boil down to two key interventions – widening the scope for businesses to recover costs from suppliers, and scrapping linked travel arrangements (LTAs).

Several other issues on which the DBT consulted, which included exempting domestic packages from the Package Travel Regulations, providing more flexibility around insolvency protection and relaxing territorial restrictions on insurance cover, will not be taken forward.

New legislation will be put forward to parliament by June 2026 – "in line" with the UK's retained EU law requirements. The PTRs were the UK's interpretation of the EU Package Travel Directive, to which it no longer needs to comply following Brexit, which has effectively freed up the UK to draft its own package travel rules.

The DBT has, however, conceded "there remain difficulties with the regulations", which it said could not be resolved through "the current legislative avenue". It has committed to "exploring these with the industry" at a later stage.

Abta: 'There was no need for a major overhaul'

(Credit: Abta)

Luke Petherbridge, Abta's director of public affairs, said the government's response "recognised the regulations generally work well" and that major change wasn't necessary. "This has been shown through Covid and some major failures," he said.

"During the review process, we have consistently argued there is no need for a major overhaul that would place increased burdens on travel companies."

Petherbridge added: "We support the intention to improve clarity around certain definitions and around the rights of travel companies to seek redress from suppliers when arrangements change.

"Abta also welcomes the government’s commitment to exploring other concerns raised during this consultation process. We look forward to engaging constructively on these topics, which we believe could contribute positively to the government’s growth agenda."

Abtot: 'Clarity is key to industry and consumers'

(Credit: Abtot)

Abtot, the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust, said it "wholeheartedly" supported the decision to maintain financial protection for domestic packages and to extend the definition of a package to incorporate LTAs.

“Clarity and understanding is key for both industry and consumer confidence, as well as enforcement," said membership director Samantha Bradbury.

Bradbury said the tweaks to Regulation 29, governing travel organisers' ability to recover costs from suppliers, would help redress "the current imbalance of obligations on travel organisers and their suppliers when a holiday must be cancelled or significantly amended".

In addition, she said Abtot supported the government's conclusion that widening territorial restrictions on insurers was "too high risk" and could potentially "destabilise consumer protection".

Aito: 'These minor tweaks fall short of what is needed'

(Credit: Aito)

Aito, by contrast, branded the government's response "disappointing", arguing the amendments would do little to alleviate the burden on its operator members.

"We had hoped the government’s stated aim to support growth for the industry and deliver a more proportionate legal framework would result in meaningful reform to redress the balance and ease unnecessary regulatory burdens, particularly for SME tour operators," said head of industry affairs Christina Brazier.

"Instead, the proposals are limited to minor tweaks that fall far short of what is needed and offer little improvement for businesses or consumers. For SME tour operators in particular, this failure to deliver substantive reform has real and damaging consequences.

"Our members will continue to take the hit and face crippling costs for events outside of their control, effectively remaining the 'insurer of last resort'."

Brazier raised the Heathrow power outage earlier this year, which resulted in one Aito members being left £20,000 out of pocket "for doing the right thing by their customers". "Such costs are unsustainable for SMEs and highlight the pressing need for real change," she continued.

However, Brazier said Aito recognised the legislative constraints within which the government was working, adding she welcomed the DBT's commitment to exploring other topics further. "[We] urge them to confirm clear timescales for progressing this work," she said.

"The industry urgently needs real impactful change, with a simple, streamlined regulatory regime that provides robust protection for consumers and supports growth across the sector. "Aito will continue to engage constructively with government to ensure that creating a fairer, simpler and more proportionate legislative framework remains firmly on the agenda."