LEGAL TECH AND ONLINE DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN TOURISM Andrej Mićović* Introduction For the past several decades the world has seen an explosion in the growth of tourism.1 Inevitably, the rate at which tourists will be dissatisfied with the goods and services they receive will also increase. International tourists and visitors may continue to face significant obstacles with respect to access to justice when a dispute arises between the tourist / visitor and the provider of a good or service.2 Some of the barriers faced by tourists and visitors in accessing justice may include: (1) limited ability to access legal aid, (2) costs associated with initiating court proceedings or securing a judgment, (3) a lack of information on the rights of tourists and the remedies available to them, (4) the requirement of physical presence to initiate, participate in, or conclude judicial or ADR procedures, (5) the absence of small claims courts or procedures that are suitable to international tourist disputes, (6) specificity of administrative or governmental bodies which facilitate the resolution of international tourist disputes, and (7) the limited cooperation mechanisms between national consumer protection bodies. In order to overcome the identified barriers, over the last decade significant work has been within the Hague Conference on Private International Law to facilitate access to justice for international tourists. However, the Experts’ Group on the Tourists and Visitors (ODR) Project at its third meeting (held virtually from 5 to 9 October 2020) did not reach a conclusive consensus on “the necessity, desirability, and feasibility of developing a hard law / soft law instrument on matters * Associate Professor, University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism in Vrnjačka Banja; IFTTA Membership Secretary, Member of the IFTTA-HCCH Committee. 1 UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2020 Edition, English version published in January 2021, available at < https://www.eunwto.org/doi/epdf/10.18111/9789284422456 2 Annex I, p. 4 of CGAP Prel. Doc. No. 1 REV of December 2021.
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