Civil liability of tour operators and travel agents: prospects for legislative changes.

The article addresses current issues of civil liability of tour operators and travel agents towards customers of tourism services in the modern tourism market. The basis for the study was the initiative to develop a draft law revising the allocation of civil legal liability in the implementation of tourism products, which provides for limiting the liability of tour operators for the actions of travel agents. The study explores the concept of civil legal liability, analyzes the current situation, determines the feasibility of this initiative, and its impact on consumer rights. The object of the study is comprehensive civil legal relations arising between the parties in the implementation of tourism products, including the mechanism for distributing civil legal liability between the tour operator and the travel agent towards the customer and tourists under the contract for the implementation of tourism products. The methodological basis of the research includes general scientific and special methods of cognition, including the dialectical method, analysis of regulatory legal acts, comparative legal method, systemic approach to the study of legal relations in the field of tourism, and historical-legal method in the study of the development of tourism legislation. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive analysis of possible consequences of limiting the civil legal liability of tour operators for the actions of travel agents, as well as in the systemic analysis of the legislative initiative and identification of the legal consequences of its implementation. According to the authors, the legislative initiative to limit the liability of tour operators under contracts for the implementation of tourism products will lead to an increase in the dominant position in the tourism market and a weakening of control over the activities of travel agents. This, in turn, will lead to negative consequences for consumers, which contradicts the state policy in the field of consumer rights protection and will entail the need for state oversight of travel agents. Based on the conducted research, the authors propose measures, including: strengthening the regulation of relations between the tour operator and the travel agent through the establishment of imperative norms; limiting the application of consumer legislation norms regarding provided penalties; restricting tour operators in the direct sale of tourism products to consumers of tourism services.

civil liability, tour operator, travel agent, tourist product, tourist services, legal regulation, consumer protection, tourist, tourist activity, compensation for damage