The European tourism sector is looking to Brussels with concern. German travel and tourism associations warn that the revision of the European Package Travel Directive could pose serious risks to the industry. On the eve of the start of the trilogue between the European Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament, nearly a dozen associations—including BTW, DRV, and VDR—presented a joint document calling for urgent changes. Authorities and employers' associations in southern Gran Canaria: zero.
"The goal must be to strengthen package travel as a safe and established product, not weaken it. Otherwise, those who suffer will not only be tour operators, but above all travelers themselves," the associations warn, appealing directly to the German government to defend their interests in the negotiations.
Impact on destinations such as Maspalomas
The debate is not foreign to Maspalomas, where 58% of tourists arrive on package holidays. In this southern enclave of Gran Canaria, heavily dependent on the tour operator model, any change in European regulations would have immediate effects on visitor arrivals and, therefore, on employment and the economic stability of the municipality.
Definition of package travel and risk for agencies
German tourism industry associations reject the current definition of package travel and demand a clear separation from business travel. They argue that intermediaries should be able to offer several services without automatically becoming organizers responsible for the entire operation. The EU Council supports this differentiation, which the industry believes is key to preventing medium-sized and small agencies—very present in the tourist flow to the Canary Islands—from assuming disproportionate burdens.
Balance in risk management
The associations also demand a "fair distribution of risk." They fear that the regulations will place the burden exclusively on tour operators for the consequences of extraordinary circumstances that could force them to cancel trips without cost, such as health crises, conflicts, or natural disasters. In destinations dependent on package tourism, such as Maspalomas, this point is particularly sensitive, as an avalanche of cancellations could collapse the tourism value chain.
Germany, leader in the holiday package
The German case is crucial: 41% of all package holidays in the EU are sold there, where almost one in three vacations is a package tour. That's why the associations warn: overregulation would put SMEs, jobs, and millions of travelers at risk, in addition to directly impacting destinations like the Canary Islands, whose connectivity and tourism model depend largely on German package holiday customers.
