LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR LANGUAGE TRAVEL PROVIDERS the note, that accommodation combined with „long-term language courses“is residential accommodation. 5.2.1. Relevance of the duration of stay The context of long-term language courses in the Package Travel Directive raises again the question of relevance of the duration of a stay. Does the explicit use of the word “long-term” automatically mean that an accommodation combined with a language course for a duration of less than 6 months immediately turns into a travel service? In other words: Is every short-term language course a travel service? Probably not. It would be confusing to explicitly refer to “long-term” language courses, in order to exclude the application of the Directive, and not to language courses in general. The decisive factor must more be the general purpose of the accommodation, rather than the duration of the stay. Such an evaluation is also consistent with the wording of the Directive in Recital (17), because the relevant wording of the Package Travel Directive is “purpose” of accommodation. Thus, both, long-term and short-term studies can be sold with an accommodation for residential purposes. 5.2.2. No maximum duration The Package Travel Directive confirms this in Recital (19), because regarding to the question of the time component the Package Travel Directive only provides for a minimum duration for package tours (which is 24 hours), but not for a “maximum duration“. The wording says “(…) trips lasting less than 24 hours (…) should be excluded from the scope of this Directive”. In other words: Even long trips can be package travel and even short stays can be for residential purposes. 5.2.3. ECJ statements on long-term studies With regard to the duration of the stay the European Court of Justice stated that “long-term studies last six months or one year”, but pointed out that literally: “Even if the accommodation included in package travel is normally of relatively short duration, that cannot be regarded as a defining element of the term ‘accommodation’”. Conclusion: The duration is not solely decisive. We just have to evaluate deeper the residential purpose of an accommodation. 5.2.4. Different types of accommodation For the evaluation of residential purposes it is useful to look at the different types of accommodation provided with a language course. There are private
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