Domestic sector facing biggest regulatory shake-up for 30 years

Speaking at Abta’s Travel Law seminar on Wednesday (10 May), Deloitte Legal director Luke Golding said the government’s plans to deregulate UK domestic breaks – partially or completely – came as a "very interesting development".

“If this proposal were to go ahead, it would provide a rare example in the opposite direction, constituting a reduction in the overall regulatory burden affecting the UK travel industry,” he told delegates.

UK travel businesses have, broadly, been subject to a continuous increase in regulatory burden since the introduction in 1992 of the rules that were to become the modern PTRs, with Abta’s director of legal affairs Luke Petherbridge warning businesses they would face the strain from the volume of reforms proposed for this year.

The government’s Department for Business and Trade, the seminar heard, is understood to be considering freeing domestic packages from the auspices of the Package Travel Regulations, with an initial consultation expected in the near future.

The PTRs, in their current form, prevent UK hotels and accommodation providers from adding value to their services by packaging hotel rooms with local attractions. Golding, though, said: “It can be argued that UK consumers taking part in a UK holiday require less protection than those consumers who are travelling abroad."