RETHINKING THE LIABILITY OF PACKAGE TOUR OPERATORS IN SPAIN It is therefore clear to the European Parliament and the Council that the organiser is the operator who, as the name suggests, is capable of organising the package, regardless of how the package is put together, whether by one or more operators, and whether or not it is sold at a single point of sale (Art. 3. 2 of the DVC&SVV), so that the organiser is liable for the lack of conformity and the improper execution of the package, over and above the liability that the retailer may incur with regard to the information provided directly to the consumer and the documentation that must be provided to the consumer after the conclusion of the contract. Unlike the DVC, the DVC&SVV makes the organiser solely responsible for the provision of the package, regardless of whether these services are provided by the organiser or by other suppliers. In fact, the most striking feature of the DVCC&SVV in this area is that it clearly states that at least one operator, in its capacity as organiser, will be liable for the proper execution of the package and may thus relieve the retailer of this liability6. It should be noted, however, that the retailer is not exempt from all liability. The retailer assumes important obligations regarding the information and documentation of the holiday and is therefore jointly liable with the organiser for the provision of pre-contractual information or for errors that occur during the booking process, unless these are caused by the consumer or by exceptional and unavoidable circumstances7. All in all, it seems that the DVC&SVV, in addition to attempting to reconcile optimal consumer protection along the lines of other pro-consumer directives, also seeks to balance the interests of entrepreneurs by ensuring a system that also favours operators and, ultimately, the market, by attempting to ensure greater similarity between state regulations and by seeking to improve the internal market within the European Union8. III. THE EVOLUTION OF THE LIABILITY OF PACKAGE TOUR OPERATORS IN SPANISH LAW Given the changes brought about by the aforementioned Directives and the time that has elapsed between them, we must ask ourselves how this liability has 6 In the opinion of part of the doctrine, this diminishes consumer protection. Vid. Berenguer Albaladejo, 2016, p. 47. 7 Paniza Fullana, 2014, p. 5. 8 Zubiri De Salinas, 2020 a, p. 30.
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