INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM, TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY LAW This disclaimer was later qualified in the DVC&SVV, which makes the organiser solely liable for the lack of conformity and for the performance of the package, but allows Member States to extend it to the retailer, which does not achieve the desired harmonisation, although it does allow for better consumer protection. The above-mentioned Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Adapting European package travel rules for the digital age [COM(2013) 513 final] concludes that the DVC has strengthened the quality of travel services, but needs to be updated to adapt to market developments5. This adaptation is made by the DVC&SVV, which recognises that, apart from the social and technological changes which have led to a significant change in the way in which package travel and other combined services are organised today, the DVC leaves a wide margin of discretion to the Member States in its transposition into national law, which has led to the divergences observed in the different national legislations, including the way in which the liability of the organisers of these trips is dealt with. Disparities between the rules on passenger protection in different Member States discourage travellers from one Member State from purchasing package travel and related travel services in another Member State and discourage organisers and retailers from one Member State from selling such services in another Member State. In order to allow travellers and traders to benefit fully from the internal market, while ensuring a high level of consumer protection throughout the Union, it is necessary to make progress in the approximation of the laws of the Member States on package travel and related travel services (MS No 6). Thus, in contrast to Article 5 of the DVC, Article 13 of the DVC&SVV provides that “Member States shall ensure that the organiser is liable for the performance of the travel services included in the package contract, irrespective of whether these services are to be supplied by the organiser or by other travel service providers”, It also allows those States “to maintain or introduce into their national legislation provisions providing that the retailer shall also be liable for the performance of the package”, in which case the relevant provisions of the Directive concerning the organiser’s liability shall apply to the organiser. 5 COM (2013) 513 final, p. 10.
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