Articles 95 to 103 of Decree No. 94-490 of 15 June 1994 adopted in application of Article 31 of Law No. 92-645 of 13 July 1992.
Art. 95 - Subject to the exclusions stipulated in paragraph 2 (a and b) of Article 14 of the Law of 13 July 1992 referred to above, all offers and sales of travel services or stays shall be accompanied by the provision of the appropriate documents, which meet the rules defined by this Article.
In the event of the sale of airline tickets or transport tickets on regular scheduled routes not accompanied by services linked to said transport, the vendor shall give the buyer one or more tickets for the totality of the journey issued by the carrier or under its responsibility. For customised or charter transport, the name and address of the carrier issuing the tickets must be provided.
The separate billing of various elements of the same travel package does not exempt the vendor from the obligations set out in this Article.
Art. 96 - Prior to signing the contract, the vendor must communicate in writing to the buyer: its legal corporate name, address and official authorisation to operate; all information relative to the prices, dates and other elements that make up the service provided for the purposes of the journey or stay such as:
- 1. The destination, mode, characteristics and categories of transport used.
- 2. The type of accommodation, its location, its level of comfort and its main characteristics, its accreditation and tourist classification in line with the regulations and customs in force in the host country.
- 3. The meals provided.
- 4. For tours, a description of the itinerary.
- 5. The administrative and health formalities to be completed, particularly when crossing borders, as well as the deadlines for completion.
- 6. Visits, excursions and other services included in the package or available subject to a supplement.
- 7. The minimum or maximum group size necessary to operate the journey or stay, if a minimum number of participants is required; the deadline for cancellation of the trip or stay by the client; this date cannot be fixed fewer than twenty-one (21) days prior to departure.
- 8. The amount or percentage of the total price to pay by way of deposit on signing the contract, as well as the time-frame for paying the balance.
- 9. The price adjustment terms if included in the contract in application of Article 100 of this Decree.
- 10. The contractual terms and conditions for cancellation.
- 11. The cancellation terms and conditions stipulated in Articles 101, 102 and 103 herein below.
- 12. Information concerning the risks covered and the amount of guarantees underwritten by travel agencies? professional public liability insurance and the third-party liability insurance in the case of non-profit associations and organisations or local tourist organisations;
- 13. Information concerning the optional taking out of an insurance policy covering the consequences of certain cancellations or of an assistance contract covering certain specific risks, such as repatriation costs in the event of accident or illness.
Art. 97 - Preliminary information given to the client is contractually binding, unless this information specifies that the vendor expressly reserves the right to modify certain elements. The vendor shall, in this case, clearly indicate the extent of said modification and which elements are affected. In any event, the client must be informed in writing prior to the signing of the contract of any modification made to the preliminary information.
Art. 98 - The contract agreed between the vendor and the buyer must be in writing, drawn up in duplicate and signed by both parties, one copy of which one must be given to the buyer. The contract shall include the following clauses:
1. The name and address of the vendor, its guarantor and insurer, as well as the name and address of the organiser;
2. The destination or destinations of the journey and, in the case of a split journey, the various periods and their dates.
3. The mode, characteristics and categories of transport used, the dates, times and places of departure and return.
4. The type of accommodation, its location, its level of comfort and its main characteristics, its accreditation and its tourist classification in line with the regulations or customs in force in the host country.
5. The number of meals provided.
6. For tours, a description of the itinerary.
7. The visits, excursions or other services included in the total price of the journey or stay.
8. The total price of services billed, as well as notice of any and all adjustments to this billing pursuant to the provisions of Article 100 herein below.
9. Notice, if applicable, of the charges or taxes pertaining to certain services such as taxes for landing, embarking or boarding at ports or airports, or tourist taxes, when they are not included in the package or service provided.
10. The timeframe for and payment terms of the price billed; in any event, the final payment made by the buyer shall not be less than thirty percent (30%) of the full price of the journey or stay and must be made on provision by the vendor of the documents enabling the buyer to travel.
11. Any particular conditions requested by the buyer and accepted by the vendor.
12. The means by which the buyer can assert claims against the vendor for non-execution or unsatisfactory execution of the contract; claims must be sent to the vendor by recorded delivery with acknowledgement of receipt and notification possibly sent in writing to the travel agency or service provider.
13. The deadline for cancellation of the journey or stay by the vendor where the journey or the stay requires a minimum number of participants, in application of the provisions in Clause 7 of Article 96 herein above.
14. The contractual cancellation terms and conditions.
15. The terms and conditions for cancellation stipulated in Articles 101, 102 and 103 herein below.
16. Details concerning the risks covered and the amount of the guarantees related to the insurance contract covering the consequences of the vendor?s civil liability.
17. Details concerning the insurance policy covering the consequences of certain types of cancellation underwritten by the buyer (policy number and name of insurer) as well as those concerning the policy covering certain personal risks, including repatriation in the event of illness or injury; in this case, the vendor shall give the buyer a document detailing at least the risks covered by and the risks excluded from the policy.
18. The deadline for informing the seller of the transfer of the contract by the buyer.
19. A commitment to supply in writing to the buyer at least ten (10) days prior to departure, the following information:
a) The name, address and telephone number of the vendor's local representative or, if there is no such representative, the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the local organisations able to help the client in the event of any difficulty or, failing that, an emergency telephone number enabling the client to contact the vendor.
b) Where minors are travelling to foreign countries, a telephone number and address where the child or his/her guardian can be reached on site.
Art. 99 - The buyer can transfer the contract to an assignee who fulfils the same conditions, allowing the assignee to complete the journey or stay, as long as the contract has not yet become effective . Unless otherwise stated in the buyer?s favour, the buyer transferring the contract shall inform the vendor of this decision in writing by recorded delivery with acknowledgement of receipt no later than seven (7) days prior to the scheduled departure date. In the case of a cruise, this deadline is fifteen (15) days prior to departure. Under no circumstance may this transfer be deemed to be agreed to in advance by the vendor.
Art. 100 - Where the contract includes the explicit possibility of a price adjustment, within the limits set out in the aforementioned Article 19 of the Law of 13 July 1992, it must stipulate the precise method of calculation of adjustments in pricing, both upwards and downwards, including transport prices and taxes pertaining to transport, the currency/currencies that could have an impact on the price of the journey or stay, the part of the total price affected by the adjustment, the exchange rate for the reference currency/currencies used when drawing up the contract.
Art. 101 - Should the vendor have cause, prior to the departure of the buyer, to modify an essential element of the contract, such as but not limited to a significant increase in price, the buyer may, after having been informed by the vendor of said modification in writing by recorded delivery with acknowledgement of receipt and without prejudice to any eventual claim for damages suffered:
- either terminate the contract and obtain without penalty an immediate reimbursement of all sums of money paid
- or accept the modification or substitution of the travel arrangements proposed by the vendor; an amendment to the contract detailing the modifications shall then be signed by both parties; any reduction in price must be applied to the balance of monies due from the buyer or, if full payment has already been made by the buyer, the excess amount must be refunded before the scheduled departure date.
Art. 102 - In the case provided for under the aforementioned Article 21 of the Law of 13 July 1992, when the vendor cancels the journey or stay before the buyer's scheduled departure date, he must inform the buyer by recorded delivery with acknowledgement of receipt; the buyer shall be entitled to immediate reimbursement, without penalty and without prejudice to an eventual claim for damages suffered, and also to a compensatory payment at least equal to the penalty he himself would have paid to the vendor if he had cancelled on the same date. The provisions set out in this Article do not under any circumstances prevent the two parties from reaching an agreement by mutual consent by which the buyer can accept a substitution journey or stay proposed by the vendor.
Art. 103 - Should the vendor, following the buyer's departure, find himself/herself unable to provide a predominant part of the services agreed in the contract which represent a non-negligible percentage of the price paid by the buyer, the vendor must immediately take the following steps, without prejudice to any eventual claim for damages suffered by the buyer:
- either offer replacement services and bear the eventual cost in the case of a price supplement; if the services accepted by the buyer are of inferior quality, the vendor must reimburse the difference to the buyer on his/her return.
- or if the vendor is unable to offer a replacement service or if said replacement service is refused by the buyer for valid reasons, the vendor must supply to the buyer, without a price supplement, travel tickets allowing the buyer to return, in conditions judged to be equivalent, to his/her place of departure or to another place agreed by the two parties.
Réservation
