Terms and conditions

CONTENT OF THE CONTRACT OF SALE OF THE TOURIST PACKAGE

Constitute an integral part of the travel contract in addition to the following general conditions, the description of the tourist package contained in the catalog, or in the separate travel program, as well as the booking confirmation of the services requested by the tourist/traveler. It is sent by the tour operator to the travel agency, as the agent of the Tourist, and the latter will have the right to receive it from it. In signing the proposal for the sale and purchase of a tourist package, the tourist/traveler should keep in mind that it takes as read and accepted, for himself and for those for whom he requests the all-inclusive service, both the travel contract as governed therein, and the warnings contained therein, and these general conditions.

1. LEGISLATIVE SOURCES

The sale of package tours, having as their object services to be provided in both national and international territory, is regulated-until its repeal under Art. 3 of Legislative Decree. n. 79 of May 23, 2011 (the “Tourism Code”) – by L. 27/12/1977 No. 1084 ratifying and executing the International Convention on the Contract for Travel (CCV), signed in Brussels on 23.4.1970 – as applicable – as well as by the Tourism Code (Articles 32-51) and its subsequent amendments and the provisions of the Civil Code on transportation and mandate, as applicable.

2. ADMINISTRATIVE REGIME

The organizer and the intermediary of the tourist package, to whom the tourist turns, must be licensed to carry out their respective activities according to current legislation, including regional legislation, given the specific competence.

The organizer and the intermediary shall make known to third parties, prior to the conclusion of the contract, the details of the insurance policy for the coverage of risks arising from professional liability, as well as the details of other policies of guarantee towards travelers for the coverage of events that may affect the execution of the vacation, such as cancellation of the trip, coverage of medical expenses, early return, loss of or damage to luggage, as well as the details of the guarantee against the risks of insolvency or bankruptcy of the organizer and the intermediary, each to the extent of its competence, for the purpose of the return of the sums paid or the return of the tourist to the place of departure. Pursuant to Art. 18, paragraph VI, of Cod. Tur. The use in the company name or business name of the words “travel agency,” “tourism agency” , “tour operator,” “travel broker,” or other words and phrases, including in foreign languages, of a similar nature, shall be permitted only by the licensed enterprises referred to in the first paragraph.

3. DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of this contract, the following shall mean:

1. (a) travel organizer: the person who undertakes in his own name and for a lump sum consideration, to procure tourist packages for third parties, realizing the combination of the elements referred to in Article 4 below or offering the tourist, including through a system of distance communication, the possibility of independently realizing and purchasing such combination;
2. (b) intermediary: the person who, whether or not professionally and not for profit, sells or undertakes to procure tourist packages made pursuant to Article 4 below for a flat fee;
3. (c) tourist: the purchaser, the transferee of a tourist package or any person also to be named, provided that he or she meets all the conditions required for the use of the service, on whose behalf the principal contractor undertakes to purchase a tourist package without remuneration.

4. NOTION OF PACKAGE TOUR

The notion of a package tour is as follows:

“Tourist packages refer to travel, vacations, all-inclusive circuits, tourist cruises, resulting from the combination, by whomever and in whatever way realized, of at least two of the following elements, sold or offered for sale at a lump sum price: (a) transportation; (b) accommodation; (c) tourist services not ancillary to transportation or accommodation referred to in Art. 36 that constitute for the satisfaction of the tourist’s recreational needs, a significant part of the “tourist package” (Art. 34 Tourist Code).

The tourist has the right to receive a copy of the contract of sale of tourist package (drawn up pursuant to and in the manner set forth in Art. 35 Tourist Code). The contract constitutes eligibility for access to the guarantee fund under Article 21 below.

5. TOURIST INFORMATION – DATA SHEET

1. Before the start of the trip, the organizer and the intermediary shall notify the tourist of the following information:
   (a) timetables, intermediate stop locations and connections;
   (b) information on the identity of the operating air carrier, where not known at the time of booking, as per provision Art.11 Reg. Ce 2111\05 (Art. 11(2) Ce 2111/05: “If the identity of the actual air carrier(s) is not yet known at the time of reservation, the air carriage contractor shall ensure that the passenger is informed of the name of the air carrier(s) that will operate as actual air carrier(s) for the flight(s) concerned. In such a case, the air carriage contractor shall ensure that the passenger is informed of the identity of the actual air carrier or carriers as soon as their identity has been ascertained and their possible operating ban in the European Union.”

1. The organizer shall prepare a data sheet in the catalog or in the out-of-catalog program-either electronically or electronically. It contains technical information regarding the legal obligations to which the Tour Operator is subject, such as but not limited to:
   – Details of the administrative authorization or S.C.I.A. of the organizer;
   – Details of the guarantees for travelers under Art. 50 Cod. Tur.
   – Details of the liability insurance policy;
   – period of validity of the catalog or out-of-catalog program;
   – Parameters and criteria for adjusting the price of travel (Art. 40 Cod. Tur.)

6. PURCHASE PROPOSAL – RESERVATIONS

The proposal for the sale and purchase of tourist package must be made on the appropriate contract form, if applicable electronic, completed in its entirety and signed by the customer, who will receive a copy. The acceptance of the proposal for the sale and purchase of the tourist package is understood to be finalized, with the consequent conclusion of the contract, only when the organizer sends relative confirmation, including by means of telematic system, to the tourist at the intermediary travel agency, which will take care of its delivery to the tourist. Information about the tourist package not contained in the contractual documents, brochures or other means of written communication will be provided by the organizer, in regular fulfillment of its obligations under Art. 37 para. 2 Cod. Tur. Before the start of the trip. Special requests on how to provide and/or perform certain services that are part of the tourist package, including the need for assistance at the airport for persons with reduced mobility, the request for special meals on board or at the resort, must be made at the time of the reservation request and be the subject of a specific agreement between Tourist and Organizer, through the mandated travel agency. Pursuant to Art. 32, para. 2, Cod. Tur. notice is hereby given that in contracts concluded at a distance or off-premises (as respectively def initi by Articles. 50 and 45 of Legislative Decree 206/2005), the right of withdrawal provided for in Articles. 64 and Legislative Decree. 206/2005.

7. PAYMENTS

1. Upon signing the proposal for the purchase of the tourist package must be paid:
   (a) the registration or practice management fee (see Article 8);
   b) down payment not exceeding 25% of the price of the package tour published in the catalog or in the package quotation provided by the Organizer. This amount is paid as a security deposit and price account advance. During the period of validity of the proposed purchase and sale and therefore before any confirmation of reservation that constitutes the completion of the contract, the effects referred to in Article 1385 of the Civil Code are not produced if the withdrawal depends on an unattributable event. The balance must be irrevocably paid by the deadline set by the Tour Operator in its catalog or in the booking confirmation of the requested tourist service/package.

1. For reservations at a time after the date specified as the deadline for making the balance, the full amount must be paid at the time of signing the purchase proposal.

1. Failure to pay the above sums, on the established dates, or failure to remit to the Tour Operator the sums paid by the Tour Operator – and without prejudice to warranty actions under Art. 50 Leg. 79/2011 – constitutes express termination clause such as to determine the legal termination to be effected by simple written notice, by fax or e-mail, at the intermediary Agency, or at the domicile, including electronic, where communicated, of the tourist. The balance of the price is considered to have been paid when the sums are received by the organizer directly from the tourist or through the intermediary chosen by the same tourist.

8. PRICE

The price of the tourist package is determined in the contract, with reference to what is stated in the catalog or out-of-catalog program and any updates to the same catalogs or out-of-catalog programs that subsequently occurred.

It may be varied only as a result of changes in:

– Transportation costs, including the cost of fuel;

– fees and taxes related to air transportation, landing, landing or boarding fees at ports and airports;

– exchange rates applied to the package in question.

For such variations, reference will be made to the exchange rate and prices in effect on the date of publication of the program, as reported in the catalog data sheet, or the date reported in any updates published on the websites.

In any case, the price cannot be increased in the 20 days prior to departure, and the revision cannot be more than 10% of the price in its original amount.

The price consists of:

1. (a) registration fee or practice management fee;
2. (b) participation fee: expressed in the catalog or package quote provided to the intermediary or tourist;
3. (c) cost of any insurance policies against cancellation risks and/or medical expenses or other required services;
4. (d) cost of any visas and entry and exit fees from vacation destination countries.

9. MODIFICATION OR CANCELLATION OF THE TOURIST PACKAGE BEFORE DEPARTURE

1. Before departure, the organizer or intermediary who needs to significantly change one or more elements of the contract shall give immediate written notice to the tourist, indicating the type of change and the resulting change in price.
2. If the tourist does not accept the proposed change referred to in paragraph 1, he/she may withdraw without payment of penalties and has the right to take advantage of another tour package where the Tour Operator is able to offer it, or he/she shall be reimbursed, within the terms of the law, the amount of money already paid including the handling fee.
3. The tourist shall notify the organizer or intermediary of his or her choice within two working days after receiving the notice specified in paragraph1. In the absence of communication within the above deadline, the proposal made by the organizer shall be deemed accepted.
4. If the Organizer cancels the tour package before departure for any reason other than the traveler’s fault, it will refund to the traveler, within the terms of the law, the amount paid for the purchase of the tour package and is entitled to be compensated for the non-performance of the contract, except in the cases indicated below:
5. There is no compensation arising from the cancellation of the tour package when the cancellation of the package depends on the failure to reach the minimum number of participants that may have been requested, or on force majeure and fortuitous event.
6. For cancellations other than those caused by unforeseeable circumstances, force majeure, and failure to reach the minimum number of participants, as well as for those other than the tourist’s non-acceptance of the alternative tour package offered, the organizer who cancels will refund to the tourist a sum equal to twice the amount paid by the tourist and actually collected by the organizer, through the travel agent.
7. The sum subject to restitution shall never be more than twice the amounts for which the tourist would on the same date owe according to Art. 10,2nd para should he be the one to cancel.

10. WITHDRAWAL OF THE TOURIST

1. The tourist may also withdraw from the contract without paying penalties in the following cases:
   – Price increase in excess of 10%;
   – significant modification of one or more elements of the contract objectively configurable as fundamental to the enjoyment of the tourist package as a whole and proposed by the organizer after the conclusion of the contract itself but before departure and not accepted by the tourist.
   In the above cases, the tourist is alternately entitled:
   – to take advantage of an alternative tour package of equivalent or higher quality if the organizer can offer it to him. If the all-inclusive service is of inferior quality, the organizer must reimburse the consumer for the difference in price.
   – To the return of the sums already paid. Such repayment must be made within the terms of the law.

1. To the tourist who withdraws from the contract before departure outside of the cases listed in the first paragraph, or those provided for in Art. 9, Paragraph 2, will be charged-regardless of the payment of the deposit referred to in Article 7, Paragraph 1-the individual cost of practice management, the penalty in the amount indicated in the catalog or Program outside the catalog or tailor-made trip, any fee for insurance coverage already required at the time of the conclusion of the contract or for other services already rendered.

1. In the case of pre-established groups these amounts will be agreed upon from time to time at the signing of the contract
2. Excluded from the above are trips that include the use of scheduled flights with special fares. In these cases the conditions regarding cancellation penalties are deregulated and much more restrictive.

11. CHANGES AFTER DEPARTURE

The Organizer, if after departure it finds itself unable to provide, for any reason except for the tourist’s own doing, an essential part of the services stipulated in the contract, shall make suitable alternative arrangements for the continuation of the planned trip not involving charges of any kind to be borne by the tourist, or reimburse the latter to the extent of the difference between the services originally planned and those performed. If no alternative solution is possible, or if the solution prepared by the organizer is refused by the tourist for proven and justified reasons, the organizer will provide, without extra charge, a means of transportation equivalent to the original one planned for the return to the place of departure or to the different place possibly agreed upon, subject to the availability of means and places, and will reimburse the tourist to the extent of the difference between the cost of the services planned and the cost of the services provided up to the time of the early return.

12. SUBSTITUTIONS AND PRACTICE VARIATION

1. The tourist may have another person substitute for himself provided that:
   (a) the organizer is informed in writing at least 4 working days before the date set for departure, receiving at the same time notice about the reasons for the substitution and the particulars of the transferee;
   b) the transferee meets all the conditions for the use of the service (ex art. 39 Cod. Tur.) and in particular the requirements for passport, visas, health certificates;
   (c) the same or other replacement services can be provided as a result of the replacement;
   (d) the substitute reimburses the organizer for all additional expenses incurred in making the substitution, to the extent that will be quantified to him before the assignment.
   The transferor and the transferee shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of the balance of the price as well as the amounts referred to in paragraph (d) of this Article.
   It is understood that, in application of Art. 944 of the Navigation Code, substitution will only be possible with the consent of the carrier.
2. In any case, the Tourist who requests the variation of any element relating to a practice already confirmed (by way of example only: substitution of person, correction of the name incorrectly communicated, request for change of date, request for change of departure city, etc.) and provided that it is possible to implement it, shall pay to the Tour Operator, in addition to the expenses resulting from the modification itself, a fixed flat fee of €…..

13. OBLIGATIONS OF TOURISTS

1. In the course of negotiations and in any case prior to the conclusion of the contract, Italian citizens shall be provided in writing with general information – updated as of the date of printing of the catalog – regarding health obligations and documentation required for expatriation.
2. For regulations regarding the expatriation of minors, please refer expressly to the State Police website. However, it should be noted that minors must be in possession of a valid personal document for expatriation i.e. passport, or for EU countries, also a valid identity card for expatriation. With regard to the expatriation of minors under the age of 14 and the expatriation of minors for whom Authorization issued by the Judicial Authority is required, the requirements indicated on the State Police website http://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/191/ should be followed.

1. Foreign nationals should find the corresponding information through their diplomatic representations present in Italy and/or their respective official government information channels.
   In any case, tourists will, prior to departure, check for updates with the competent authorities (for Italian citizens, the local Questuras or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs via the website www.viaggiaresicuri.it or the Telephone Operations Center at 06.491115), adjusting them before travel. In the absence of such verification, no responsibility for the non-departure of one or more tourists can be attributed to the intermediary or organizer.

1. Tourists must in any case inform the intermediary and the organizer of their citizenship when requesting the booking of the tour package or tourist service and, at the time of departure, they must definitely make sure that they are in possession of vaccination certificates, individual passports and any other document valid for all the countries touched by the itinerary, as well as stay visas, transit visas and health certificates that may be required.

1. In addition, in order to assess the socio-political and health security situation of the destination countries and, therefore, the objective usability of the services purchased or to be purchased the tourist will have the burden of taking the official information of a general nature at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and disclosed through the institutional website of Farnesina www.viaggiaresicuri.it. The above information is not contained in T.O. catalogs – online or in print – since they contain descriptive information of a general nature as stated in Article 38 of the Tourism Code and because they are temporally changeable. Socio-political information regarding the vacation destination country should therefore be assumed by the Tourists.

1. Where on the date of booking the destination chosen appears from institutional information channels, location not recommended for security reasons, the traveler who subsequently exercises the withdrawal may not invoke, for the purpose of exemption from the claim for compensation for the withdrawal made, the failure of the contractual cause related to the security conditions of the country.

1. Tourists must also comply with the observance of the rules of normal prudence and diligence and the specific rules in force in the destination countries of the trip, all information provided to them by the organizer, as well as the regulations, administrative or legislative provisions relating to the tourist package. Tourists will be held liable for all damages that the organizer and/or the intermediary may also suffer as a result of failure to comply with the above obligations, including the expenses necessary for their repatriation.

1. The tourist is obliged to provide the organizer with all documents, information and elements in his possession useful for the exercise of the latter’s right of subrogation against third parties responsible for the damage and is liable to the organizer for the prejudice caused to the right of subrogation.

1. The tourist will also notify the organizer in writing, at the time of the proposal for the sale and purchase of tourist package and then before the organizer sends the confirmation of the booking of services, of special personal requests that may be the subject of specific agreements on the arrangements for the trip, provided that it is possible to implement them.

14. HOTEL CLASSIFICATION

The official classification of hotel facilities is provided in the catalog or other informational material only in accordance with the express and formal instructions of the competent authorities of the country in which the service is provided.

In the absence of official classifications recognized by the competent Public Authorities of the EU member countries to which the service refers, or in the case of facilities marketed as a “Tourist Village,” the organizer reserves the right to provide in the catalog or brochure its own description of the accommodation, such as to enable an evaluation and consequent acceptance of it by the tourist.

15. LIABILITY REGIME

The organizer is liable for damages caused to the tourist by reason of the total or partial non-performance of the services contractually due, whether the same are carried out by him personally or by third party service providers, unless he proves that the event resulted from the tourist’s own actions (including initiatives independently taken by the latter in the course of the performance of tourist services) or from the actions of a third party of an unforeseeable or unavoidable nature, from circumstances unrelated to the provision of the services under the contract, fortuitous event, force majeure, or circumstances that the organizer himself could not, according to professional diligence, reasonably foresee or resolve. The intermediary with whom the booking of the tourist package has been made shall in no case be liable for the obligations relating to the organization and execution of the trip, but shall be liable exclusively for the obligations arising from its capacity as an intermediary and, in any case, within the limits provided for such liability by the relevant regulations in force, except for the exemption referred to in Art. 46 Code. Tur.

16. LIMITS OF COMPENSATION

Compensation under Articles 44, 45, and 47 of the Cod. Tur. and related statutes of limitation, are governed by what is provided therein and in any case within the limits established, by the C.C.V., by the International Conventions governing the services that are the subject of the tourist package as well as by articles 1783 and 1784 of the Civil Code, with the exception of personal damages not subject to a set limit.

17. DUTY OF CARE

The organizer is obliged to assist the tourist in distress according to the standard of professional diligence with exclusive reference to the obligations incumbent on him or her by provision of law or contract. The organizer and the intermediary are exonerated from their respective responsibilities (Articles 15 and 16 of these General Conditions), when the non-execution or inexact execution of the contract is attributable to the tourist or was due to the fact of a third party of an unforeseeable or unavoidable character, or was caused by a fortuitous event or force majeure.

18. COMPLAINTS AND GRIEVANCES

Any shortcomings in the performance of the contract must be objected to by the tourist during the enjoyment of the package so that the organizer, its local representative or escort can promptly remedy them. Otherwise, damages will be diminished or excluded in accordance with Article 1227 of the Civil Code.

Notwithstanding the above obligation, the tourist may also make a complaint by sending a registered letter, with acknowledgement of receipt, to the organizer or seller, no later than ten working days from the date of return to the place of departure.

The Tourist also has the right to use the online dispute resolution procedure available at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/

19. INSURANCE AGAINST CANCELLATION AND REPATRIATION EXPENSES

If not expressly included in the price, it is possible, and indeed advisable, to take out at the time of booking at the offices of the organizer or seller special insurance policies against expenses arising from cancellation of the package, accidents and/or illnesses that also cover repatriation expenses and for loss and/or damage to luggage. The rights arising from insurance contracts must be exercised by the tourist directly against the stipulating Insurance Companies, under the conditions and in the manner provided in the policies themselves, as set forth in the policy conditions published in the catalogs or displayed in the brochures made available to Tourists at the time of departure.

20. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION TOOLS

Pursuant to and in accordance with Art. 67 Code. Tur. the organizer may propose to the tourist – in the catalog, documentation, on its website or in other forms – ways of alternative resolution of disputes that have arisen. In such a case, the organizer will indicate the type of alternative resolution proposed and the effects such adherence entails.

21. GUARANTEES TO THE TOURIST (Art. 50 and 51 Tourist Code).

Organized tourism contracts are backed by suitable guarantees provided by the Organizer and the intermediary travel agent, which, for travel abroad and travel taking place within a single country guarantee, in cases of insolvency or bankruptcy of the intermediary or organizer, the refund of the price paid for the purchase of the tourist package and the immediate return of the tourist. The identification details of the legal entity that, on behalf of the Organizer, is obliged to provide the guarantee will be indicated in the catalog and/or website of the Tour Operator; they may also be indicated in the booking confirmation of the services requested by the tourist/traveler. For contracts for the sale of package tours concluded by June 30, 2016, the rules of Article 51 of Legislative Decree No. 79 of 2011, as amended.

Claims for reimbursement related to contracts for the sale of package tours concluded by June 30, 2016 must be submitted, under penalty of forfeiture, to the National Guarantee Fund established at the General Directorate for Tourism of the MIBACT within three months from the date on which the trip was concluded or should have been concluded, and are defined up to the limits of the Fund’s capacity, the liquidation management of which is ensured by the competent Administration.

22. OPERATIONAL CHANGES

In view of the early publication of catalogs containing information on how to use the services, it should be noted that the flight times and routes indicated in the acceptance of the proposal to buy and sell services may be subject to change as they are subject to subsequent validation. To this end, the tourist/traveler should seek confirmation of services from their agency before departure.

The Organizer will inform passengers about the identity of the actual carrier in the time and manner stipulated in Art. 11 of Reg. EC 2111/2005. (referred to in Art.5).

ADDENDUM

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT OF SALE OF INDIVIDUAL TOURIST SERVICES

1. (A) REGULATORY PROVISIONS

Contracts having as their object the offer of only the transportation service, only the accommodation service, or any other separate tourist service, not being able to be configured as a negotiated case of travel organization or tourist package, are governed by the following provisions of the CCV: Art. 1, no. 3 and no. 6; Art. 17 to 23; Art. 24 to 31 (limited to those parts of these provisions that do not refer to the organization contract) as well as by other agreements specifically referring to the sale of the individual service under contract. A seller who undertakes to procure an unbundled tourist service to a third party, including by electronic means, is obliged to issue the tourist with documents relating to this service, showing the amount paid for the service, and cannot in any way be considered a travel organizer.

1. (B) CONTRACT CONDITIONS

The following clauses of the general terms and conditions of contracts for the sale of tourist packages above are also applicable to such contracts: art. 6 paragraph 1; art. 7 paragraph 2; art. 13; art. 18. The application of these clauses in no way determines the configuration of the relevant services as a tourist package. Therefore, the terminology in the above-mentioned clauses regarding the tourist package contract (organizer, travel, etc.) should be understood with reference to the corresponding figures in the contract for the sale of individual tourist services (seller, stay, etc.).

INFORMATION EX ART. 13 DLGS 196/2003 and ss.mm.ii

The processing of personal data, the provision of which is necessary for the conclusion and execution of the contract, is carried out in full compliance with Legislative Decree 196/2003, in paper and digital form. The data will be disclosed only to the providers of the services included in the tour package. The customer may at any time exercise the rights under art. 7 DLGS 196/2003 by contacting the data controller: name of the Company; headquarters, tax data; indication of the name of the person in charge and e-mail address.

MANDATORY COMMUNICATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 17 OF LAW NO. 38/2006.

“Italian law punishes with imprisonment crimes concerning prostitution and child pornography, even if committed abroad

 

ADDENDUM GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

With reference to Art. 10 withdrawal of the Tourist in case of cancellation of the entire travel package by the tourist, the following penalties will be applied:

• From reservation until 90 days before departure 300 euros
• From 89 days before departure until 45 days before departure 50% of the participation fee
• From 44 days before departure until departure, 100% of the participation fee
  

A policy to cover cancellation penalties is strongly recommended.
The Balance of the trip must be received 45 days prior to the departure of the group or the trip will be cancelled and penalties applied.