Individual trip
In travel law , the individual trip is a trip that the traveler either undertakes in self-organization or simply books a travel service with a travel agent or begins the trip without such bookings.
General
The individual trip is a form of travel in which the traveler prefers self-organization to the trip and does not leave the organization to a tour operator . He wants to decide for himself about travel services and the time they will be used, and not to carry out an external package tour . Travel services in accordance with § 651a para. 3 BGB the passenger transport (with motor vehicle, train, plane, ship), accommodation (except for residential purposes) and other tourism services (such as excursions , sightseeing ). If the traveler uses his own motor vehicle for his trip and only books a hotel through a travel agency before starting the trip , this is an individual trip . This also applies if the traveler does not book a travel service, but only chooses the accommodation after arriving at the destination.
Legal issues
This distinguishes the individual trip from the package tour and the associated travel service . In accordance with Section 651w of the German Civil Code, the associated travel service consists of at least two different types of travel services for the purpose of the same trip. This means that although the travel agency may have a uniform payment process , the individual service providers ( airline , hotel , rental car company ) issue separate invoices . As a result, the traveler enters into a legal relationship with each individual service provider. This is precisely not the case with package tours. Although it is also a set of at least two different types of travel services for the purpose of the same trip ( Section 651a (2) BGB), the traveler only enters into a legal relationship with the tour operator, even if several service providers such as an airline, hotel or rental car company are involved . In the case of an individual trip , no uniform travel contract is concluded, but the contract types ( service , work or rental contract ) that depend on the service provider .
When booking the individual services - even from different providers - via the same travel agency, according to a decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), a package tour should already be available under certain circumstances, the organizer of which is the travel agency. This is the case when the travel agency does not act as a travel agent , but provides the travel services in its own name - the actual service providers are not named to the customer.
Legal consequences
The traveler must coordinate the travel services themselves. His contractual partner is the respective service provider. If there are travel deficiencies , the warranty law of the BGB applies and not the more consumer-friendly travel law . The individual traveler is therefore entitled to supplementary performance ( Section 439 BGB), right of withdrawal ( Section 440 BGB, Section 323 BGB, Section 326 (5) BGB), reduction ( Section 441 BGB), reimbursement of expenses ( Section 284 BGB) or compensation ( Section 437 BGB). He must try to enforce these rights with the service provider. If the service provider and traveler are based in different countries, the question always arises as to which national legal system is applicable. It is to be answered according to the circumstances of the individual case on the basis of private international law . Travel guides are not available to him as a contact person.
economic aspects
The market shares of individual travel in the entire German travel market have shown an increasing trend since 2005 at the expense of package tours. While in 2005 individual trips had a market share of 56% of all trips over 5 days, the share of this market segment in 2015 was already 61%.
As a rule - with the same travel services, the same travel duration and the same destination - the individual trip is cheaper than the package tour. The individual tourist saves the tour operator's profit margin and the guarantee commission for the travel security certificate . Only in mass tourism (e.g. to Mallorca) can this advantage be overcompensated by the lower hotel prices possible for the tour operator ( bargaining power ). Depending on the destination and travel time , price advantages can therefore be achieved for both individual and package tours.
Advantages and disadvantages
The main advantage of an individual trip is the greater flexibility. The customer can tailor the trip according to his wishes and needs, choose the travel locations to visit and set the schedule himself. In particular, he also gains access to places that are not offered as part of package tours due to a lack of demand or because of difficult feasibility.
On the other hand, the traveler bears the organizational effort and responsibility for the success themselves. If, for example, they cannot use individual services because others fail, they may still have to pay for them. He also does not have a central contact, but has to deal with a large number of actors.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Harald Bartl, Travel and Leisure Law , 1985, p. 22
- ↑ ECJ, judgment of April 30, 2002, Az .: Case C-400/00 - Club Tour, Viagens e Turismo SA / Alberto Carlos Lobo Gonçalves Garrido
- ↑ FUR Research Community Vacation and Travel eV, Reiseanalyse 2016 , p. 5
- ↑ Wolfgang Fuchs / Jörn W. Mundt / Hans-Dieter Zollondz (eds.), Lexikon Tourismus , 2008, p. 374
