The National Council yesterday passed an amendment to the SME Promotion Act and thus created the basis for a state transitional model in the area of ​​insolvency protection for package tours and related travel services. 

Organizers of package tours and brokers of related travel services must, due to the EU package travel directive, have insolvency insurance to protect customer funds taken over. Due to the tense economic situation caused by the corona, both HDI Global SE, which was important for the previous insolvency insurance model, offered a simple and inexpensive solution for insolvency protection initiated by the Austrian Hotel and Tourism Bank (ÖHT) and the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), withdrawn from the market as well as other insurance companies.

“With the change in the law, a large number of small and medium-sized tour operators and travel agencies will receive insolvency protection and thus the opportunity to offer package tours and related travel services in 2021 as well. The professional association fought vehemently for this transitional model, because on the one hand insurers have withdrawn from the market, on the other hand it is currently difficult for many companies to get a bank guarantee for insolvency protection ", says Gregor Kadanka, chairman of the professional association of travel agencies in the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ ). Susanne Kraus-Winkler, chairwoman of the professional association of the hotel industry, also welcomes the transitional model for insolvency protection. “Hotels that offer package tours, such as ski packages, also need such insolvency protection. Since the market unfortunately no longer offers any offers, we absolutely need a state transitional model for our hotels too, ”she emphasizes Kadanka's efforts in this regard.