TRADE REGULATIONS:A MAJOR REVIEW is to be undertaken into the licensing of travel agents, amid fears that thousands of people who book holidays online might not have proper protection or consumer rights.
The Commission for Aviation Regulation is drawing up terms of reference for the review of current travel-trade licensing and bonding legislation, and is inviting submissions from the public and interested parties.
The move has been welcomed by the president of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), Jim Vaughan, who told Go that existing legislation, which goes back to 1982, is out of date given the huge changes the industry has gone through since then, such as the advent of online holiday selling.
"We are concerned that consumers who book a holiday online aren't given full protection under the existing legislation. Many customers presume if they book a holiday on the internet they are covered, but unfortunately that is not always the case."
The current legislation, he said, covers all licensed travel agents and operators, but the risk is that online operators are not covered.
This means, for example, that people who book a holiday online have no comeback if the company they book with goes out of business, as they are not bonded.
An estimated 50 per cent of holidays are now booked online. Vaughan said licensed travel agents want a level playing field, with the same regulations applying to online holiday providers as apply to travel agents.
The Commission for Aviation Regulation has published draft terms of reference for the review. The deadline for submissions is June 13th. The draft terms of reference propose evaluating the current legislation to see if the regulations are being bypassed by online service providers, and to see if there is a loss of consumer protection or distortion of competition as a result.
The commission says as part of its review it will look at existing legislation to see if it provides consumers with adequate protection without placing an unduly heavy burden on business and staff as travel markets and technologies continue to develop rapidly.
A consultation paper with possible policy proposals will be published later this year.
info@aviationreg.ie