Tourism Law in Europe

8 Organisers and traders facilitating linked travel arrangements must provide insolvency protection in any of the following forms: insurance with an insurance company, a dedicated bank deposit, a bank guarantee or participation in a guarantee scheme. Travel organisers must also prove that insolvency protection has been provided in order to obtain the licence to organise or retail package travel. The Market Inspectorate is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the provisions regulating insolvency protection. For organisers and linked travel arrangement facilitators based in other Member States, the principle of mutual recognition applies both in respect of licensing and providing insolvency protection. The Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, as the designated national contact point, has competence to oversee the fulfilment of the conditions of travel organisers established in other Member States which operate or direct their activities on the market of the Republic of Slovenia. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic Slovenian legislator partly amended the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act transposing the Package Travel Directive into Slovenian law in order to facilitate the position of travel organisers 19 . If a travel was cancelled or a traveller withdrew from a contract, a travel organiser can – instead of refunding all payments made by or on behalf of a traveller – offer the traveller a voucher 20 . However, the latter has the right to refuse it and opt for a cash. According to the Directive, the organiser shall refund all payments made by or on behalf of the traveller without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days after the contract is terminated 21 . The Slovenian legislator extended this period from 14 days to 1 year from declaration of cessation of epidemic. 19 For more on this issue, see: Karmen Lutman, Ko poti ne vodijo več v Rim: turizem v času koronavirusa in pravice potrošnikov, Pravnik 3-4/2020, pp. 151-181; Karmen Lutman, Vpliv pandemije covid-19 na pogodbe o paketnih potovanjih, Pravni letopis 2020, pp. 131-148. 20 Article 101 “Zakon o interventnih ukrepih za zajezitev epidemije COVID-19 in omilitev njenih posledic za državljane in gospodarstvo (ZIUZEOP-A)”, Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 61/20 with subsequent amendments. 21 Article 11(5) of the Package Travel Directive.