What is a tour operator?

What does a tour operator do?

An operator builds the product rather than reselling one supplier's seat or room. It selects the components, prices them together and sells the result as one arrangement, so the customer has a single party to hold to the trip as a whole.

Under Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of 25 November 2015 on package travel and linked travel arrangements, a package is a combination of at least two different types of travel service for the same trip or holiday, where those services are combined by one trader before a single contract covering all of them is concluded, or where other listed conditions are met — for example, buying them from a single point of sale after selecting them and before agreeing to pay. [5] The directive counts four kinds of travel service: carriage of passengers; accommodation that is not intrinsic to that carriage and is not for residential purposes; rental of cars or of motorcycles requiring a Category A licence; and other tourist services. [5]

It makes no difference whether the services are combined before any contact with the traveller or at the traveller's request and according to the traveller's own selection, and the same principles apply whether the booking is made through a high street trader or online. [5] Nor does it matter how the trader describes its business, or whether it acts on the supply side or presents itself as an agent acting for the traveller: what counts is its involvement in creating the package. [5]

How is a tour operator different from an OTA and from an airline?

Versus an online travel agency. The directive's model is that a package has one trader responsible as organiser for proper performance of the package as a whole. [5] Only where another trader is acting as the organiser may a business — typically a high street or online travel agent — act as a mere retailer or intermediary and not be liable as an organiser. [5] A retailer is defined as a trader other than the organiser that sells or offers for sale packages combined by an organiser. [5] Organisers are responsible for performing the travel services included in the package travel contract, unless national law provides that both the organiser and the retailer are liable. [5] A trader cannot escape the directive's obligations by claiming to be simply a travel service provider, an intermediary or anything else. [5]

Versus an airline. A single travel service bought on a stand-alone basis is neither a package nor a linked travel arrangement. [5] A flight bought on its own therefore stays a contract with the carrier, which is why the carrier's own conditions — not package rules — govern that sale; see airline contract of carriage.

Versus a linked travel arrangement. Where a trader facilitates separate contracts with separate providers instead of combining them, the directive treats the result as a linked travel arrangement, and the facilitating trader must tell the traveller that they are not buying a package and that each provider is solely responsible for performing its own contract. [5]

Which protection schemes apply to a tour operator booking?

European Union: Directive (EU) 2015/2302. Member States must ensure that travellers buying a package are fully protected against the organiser's insolvency, and the Member State where the organiser is established must ensure the organiser provides security for the refund of all payments made by or on behalf of travellers and, where the package includes carriage of passengers, for their repatriation. [5] The protection has to become available as soon as, because of the organiser's liquidity problems, travel services are not, will not be, or will only partly be performed, or where service providers require travellers to pay for them. [5] A trader facilitating a linked travel arrangement must provide insolvency protection for the refund of the payments it receives and, where it is responsible for carriage, for repatriation. [5] Consumer-facing guidance on packages and linked travel arrangements is published on the European Union's Your Europe portal. [2]

United Kingdom: ATOL. The UK Civil Aviation Authority administers ATOL protection, and its ATOL pages carry guidance for travel companies and tour operators on whether they need an ATOL, the types of ATOL and the financial criteria applicants must meet. [3] The CAA describes the Air Travel Trust as the primary source of funding when an ATOL holder fails. [3] Travellers can search whether a business holds an ATOL or is part of an ATOL Accredited Body, and the CAA publishes reports ranking the largest ATOLs by the number of public sales they are authorised to make. [4] ATOL is a United Kingdom scheme administered by the UK regulator and is a separate regime from the EU directive. [3] [5]

Exceptions and limits

• Short trips and small-scale arrangements. The directive does not apply to packages and linked travel arrangements covering less than 24 hours unless overnight accommodation is included, or to those offered or facilitated occasionally, on a not-for-profit basis and only to a limited group of travellers. [5]
• Business travel under a general agreement. Packages and linked travel arrangements bought under a general agreement for arranging business travel between a trader and another party acting for trade, business, craft or profession are outside the directive. [5]
• What is not a travel service. Accommodation for residential purposes and financial services such as travel insurance are not travel services under the directive. [5] Services intrinsic to another travel service also fall outside, including transfers between a hotel and an airport or railway station, meals, drinks and cleaning provided as part of accommodation, and access to on-site facilities such as a pool, sauna, spa or gym for hotel guests. [5]
• One service plus an add-on. Where not more than one type of carriage, accommodation or vehicle rental is combined with other tourist services, the combination is not a package if those extra services are not a significant proportion of its value and are not advertised as, or otherwise presented as, an essential feature; services accounting for 25% or more of the value are treated as significant. [5]
• Price changes. An organiser may raise the price only if the contract expressly reserves the possibility and states the traveller's right to a corresponding reduction, and only for reasons such as changes in fuel or other power costs, third-party taxes or fees, or relevant exchange rates; if the proposed increase exceeds 8% of the total price, the traveller may terminate without paying a termination fee. [5]
• Repatriation costs. Where unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances make a timely return impossible, the organiser bears the cost of necessary accommodation for a period not exceeding three nights per traveller, unless longer periods are provided for in EU passenger rights legislation. [5]
• Claims and remedies. A traveller may claim under the directive and under other EU legislation or international conventions, but sums granted under each are deducted from one another to avoid overcompensation, and the organiser's liability does not remove its right to seek redress from third parties, including service providers. [5] Travellers cannot waive the rights the directive gives them. [5]
• National variations. Member States may keep or introduce national provisions for contracts outside the directive's scope, such as some stand-alone contracts for single travel services, so the level of cover differs between countries. [5]

Frequently asked questions

Is a tour operator the same as a travel agent?

No. An agent typically acts as a retailer, a trader other than the organiser that sells packages combined by an organiser, and it may act as a mere intermediary only where another trader is acting as the organiser. [5] Organisers carry responsibility for performing the travel services in the package contract unless national law makes the retailer liable too. [5]

Does a package have to include a flight?

No. A package needs at least two different types of travel service, and carriage of passengers, accommodation, car or motorcycle rental and other tourist services all count as travel services. [5]

What happens if the operator fails before I travel?

In the EU, the organiser must provide security for refunding all payments made by or on behalf of travellers, plus repatriation where the package includes carriage of passengers. [5] In the United Kingdom, the Air Travel Trust is the primary source of funding when an ATOL holder fails. [3]

Are package rules applied to a flight booked on its own?

No. A single travel service bought on a stand-alone basis is neither a package nor a linked travel arrangement under the EU directive. [5]

What can I claim if the trip goes wrong?

The directive provides for problems to be remedied, for suitable alternative arrangements where a significant proportion of the services cannot be provided, and for a price reduction, termination and compensation covering non-material damage such as lost enjoyment. [5]

Related pages

Terms: online travel agency, airline contract of carriage, refund vs travel credit. Guides: booking platform cancellation and refund guide. All entries: Frequent Flyer Encyclopedia glossary.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. National laws transposing the EU directive in individual Member States, and package or seller-of-travel protection schemes outside the United Kingdom and the European Union, are not covered here.

1. Your Europe: package travel and linked travel arrangements, checked 18 October 2026
2. UK Civil Aviation Authority: ATOL protection, checked 18 October 2026
3. UK Civil Aviation Authority: check an ATOL, checked 18 October 2026
4. Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel and linked travel arrangements, checked 18 October 2026