TRAVEL OPERATORS AND ORGANISED EXCURSION OPERATORS REGULATIONS

TRAVEL OPERATORS AND

ORGANISED EXCURSION OPERATORS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 409.09

TRAVEL OPERATORS AND ORGANISED

EXCURSION OPERATORS REGULATIONS

31st May, 2002

LEGAL NOTICE 129 of 2002.

The title of these regulations is the Travel Operators and

Organised Excursion Operators Regulations.

(1)

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise

requires -

"Act" means the Malta Travel and Tourism Services Act;

" a l l o c a t i o n a g r e e m e n t " m ea n s t h e w r i t t e n a g r ee m e n t f o r

accommodation units including any ancillary services and facilities

provided against payment, in a tourism accommodation

establishment, holiday premises or house intended for the

accommodation of travellers, at a particular time or period and the

conditions under which any reservation for such accommodation

and services are made in accordance with the allocation agreement;

"communicated", unless otherwise provided to the contrary,

means sent in writing by registered post, fax or electronic means,

properly addressed to the office, or to the place of business or

residence of the addressee;

"contracted price" means the price payable to the operator of a

licensed tourism accommodation establishment, holiday premises

or house licensed for the accommodation of travellers;

"general sales agent" means a person or body corporate who has

been delegated general authority for the promotion and sale of

passenger air or sea transportation on behalf of an airline or

shipping line;

"licensee" means a person issued with a licence by the Authority

either in one’s own name or on behalf of the provider of a tourism

operation;

"organised excursion" has the meaning as assigned to it in the

Act and shall also include an organised excursion not limited to

Malta even when such an excursion is of a duration not exceeding a

period of twenty-four hours;

"organiser" has the meaning as assigned to it in the Package

Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations;

"retailer" has the meaning as assigned to it in the Package Travel,

Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations;

"tourism accommodation establishment" means a hotel,

aparthotel, tourist village, guesthouse, hostel, holiday premises and

house used for the accommodation of tourists and "tourism

accommodation operator" shall be construed accordingly;

TRAVEL OPERATORS AND

ORGANISED EXCURSION OPERATORS

"tour operator" means a foreign principal, being a person or body

corporate who organises package holidays to Malta;

"travel agent" has the meaning as assigned to it in the Act and it

shall also include general sales agents;

"travel operator" means an incoming tourism agent, or a travel

agent, or a destination management company and "travel operation"

shall be construed accordingly.

(2) Words and expressions used in these regulations which are

also used in the Act shall, unless the context otherwise requires,

have the same meaning as in the Act.

(1) A travel operator who provides various travel services

shall, on application for a licence, identify his main activity and

shall accordingly be registered and licensed under the said activity.

(2) Other travel activities, in addition to the main activity as

provided in subregulation (1), shall also be included in the licence.

It shall not be lawful for an organiser to make, or carry out

an agreement with a retailer, which may impose any restriction,

whether as to charges or other terms and conditions in respect of

the supply or as to the offer of supply by the retailer of package

holidays of another organiser.

(1) An organised excursion operator shall supply or

communicate to a traveller any descriptive material concerning the

organised excursion, including the price of the excursion and any

applicable conditions.

(2) A brochure or any other material provided by the organised

excursion operator to a traveller, shall indicate in a legible,

comprehensive and accurate manner information at least about the

following

(a) the means, characteristics and categories of transport

to be used during the organised excursion;

(b) the full itinerary of the excursion;

(c) any meal plan if applicable;

(d) the price, inclusive of taxes and any additional

charges;

(e) the method of payment;

(f)

when a minimum number of persons is required for the

excursion to take place, the date by which the traveller

should be informed in the event of cancellation;

(g) advice on appropriate dress code, if applicable;

(h) Visa / passport and other documents if required;

(i)

details of insurance cover;

(3) No descriptive material shall contain any false or

misleading information.

(4) No organised excursion operator or any other person shall

organise an excursion unless the services of a licensed tourist guide

TRAVEL OPERATORS AND

ORGANISED EXCURSION OPERATORS

are provided for such excursion.

When an allocation agreement is made between a travel

operator and a tourism accommodation operator in respect of a

tourism operation in Malta, such agreement shall comply with the

provisions of these regulations.

In the event of bookings made directly by a traveller with a

travel operator or organised excursion operator, the operator shall

issue the traveller with a voucher which shall be deemed to be a

guarantee by the operator to the traveller of the services specified

in such voucher.

(1) In the case of an allocation contract between a tour

operator and the tourism accommodation operator, the travel

operator, specifically acting as agent to the tour operator, shall not

be responsible for payment to the tourism accommodation operator

for accommodation provided to the traveller booked by the

aforementioned tour operator

Provided that the provisions of this subregulation shall not

apply when the travel operator enters into an allocation agreement

directly with a tourism accommodation establishment.

(2) When a travel operator specifically acting as agent to the

tour operator receives payment for accommodation provided, he

shall remit forthwith such payments to the tourism accommodation

operator and in no circumstances by any day later than thirty days

from date of receipt of such payment.

(3) Upon receipt of payment for accommodation provided, a

travel operator specifically acting as agent to a tour operator, shall

not withhold any part of such payment unless so authorised in

writing by the tour operator.

Travel operators and organised excursion operators shall

ensure that they comply with the standard requirements as may be

established by the Authority.

Any person who fails to comply with any of the provisions

of these regulations shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable

to the fines and penalties as indicated in articles 43 and 45 of the

Act.

Any licence issued under the Travel Agencies and Hotel

Services Regulations, 1980, repealed by these regulations, and

which is in force immediately before such repeal shall, subject to

compliance with the provisions of the Act and to the regulations

made thereunder, continue to be in force thereafter as if it where a

licence granted under the Act and the regulations made thereunder.