| Article 1 Scope of application |
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These general conditions apply to the travel organization contract as defined by the Act of 16 February 1994 regulating the Travel Contract and Travel Intermediation.
Without prejudice to common law, the specific provisions of the abovementioned Act apply to the travel intermediation contracts. |
| Article 2 Promotion and offer |
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The data given in the travel brochure / website shall be binding on the tour operator or the intermediary travel agent who has published the brochure / website, unless:
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changes to such data have explicitly been brought to the attention of the traveler, in writing and prior to the signing of the contract; |
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Subsequent changes occur pursuant to a written agreement between the parties to the contract. |
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The tour operator and/or the intermediary travel agent may be forced to temporarily suspend or permanently cancel a particular offer. |
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The offer in the brochure shall remain valid while availability lasts. |
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| Article 3 Information by the tour operator and/or the intermediary travel agent |
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The tour operator and/or the intermediary travel agent is under an obligation
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to advise the traveler in writing and prior to the signing of the travel organization contract or the travel intermediation contract:
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of all general information concerning passport and visa requirements and of all health formalities required for the trip and the subsequent sojourn, in order to allow the traveler time to arrange for the required documents. Travelers of non-Belgian nationality are well advised to inquire with the competent authorities what kind of formalities they need to complete; |
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of information regarding the content of and the procedure for taking out cancellation and/or assistance insurance; |
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the traveler must be advised in writing of the following information, at least 7 calendar days prior to departure:
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operating schedules and stop-overs and connections, and, whenever possible, the seat to be occupied by the traveler; |
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name, address and telephone and fax number of either the local representative of the tour operator and/or intermediary travel agent, or the local agencies that can give assistance to the traveler in case of problems, or of the tour operator and/or intermediary travel agent |
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in case of excursions and sojourns abroad by minors, the information on how to establish direct contact with the child or with the person who is locally responsible for the minor's well-being during his/her stay abroad. The period of time of 7 days stated in the previous paragraph does not apply in case a contract has been entered into at the last minute. |
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| Article 4 Information required from the traveler |
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The traveler is under an obligation to provide the tour operator and/or intermediary travel agent with all useful information that is explicitly requested of him. If the traveler provides erroneous information, resulting in additional expenses for the tour operator and/or intermediary travel agent, such additional expenses may be charged to the traveler. |
| Article 5 Conclusion of the contract |
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When booking a trip, the tour operator and/or intermediary travel agent is under an obligation to issue an order voucher in compliance with the law, and to hand over this order voucher to the traveler. |
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The travel contract is concluded when the tour operator confirms in writing to the traveler – directly or through the assistance of an intermediary travel agent acting for the traveler - that he has booked the trip. |
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Should the content of the order voucher deviate from the content of the travel confirmation, or if confirmation is not given at the latest within 21 days following the signing of the order voucher, the traveler may assume that the trip was not booked and the traveler shall be entitled to an immediate refund of all sums already paid in advance. |
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| Article 6 Price of the excursion |
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The price agreed upon in the contract is fixed and all obligatory services are included therein, with the reserve of obvious material errors. |
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The price agreed upon in the contract may be adjusted upwards or downwards up to and including 21 calendar days prior to departure, provided that the adjustment results from a change in:
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the exchange rate applicable to the trip and/or |
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the transportation costs, including the fuel costs and/or |
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levies and taxes for certain services. If an increase exceeds 10% of the total price, the traveler shall be entitled to cancel the contract without penalty. In this case the traveler shall be entitled to an immediate refund of all the amounts he has paid to the tour operator. The price adjustment shall be proportionally applied to that part of the trip which is subject to review. |
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Prices shall be calculated on the basis of the rates and exchange rates effective on 01 January 2008 pertinent to the sojourn and other services provided abroad; further on the basis of transportation rates that were known on 15 September 2007 and particularly on the basis of fuel costs for transportation by charter flight, calculated over the known monthly average of the month of June 2007 |
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| Article 7 Payment of the trip |
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Except in the event of leases or if explicitly agreed upon otherwise, the traveler shall pay a down payment of 30 % of the total price of the trip upon the signing of the order voucher, with a minimum of € 100. |
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Unless stated otherwise on the order voucher, the traveler shall pay the balance at the latest 1 month prior to departure, on condition that he has already received written confirmation of the trip and/or the travel documents or that those documents are handed over to him at the time of payment. |
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In the event that the traveler has booked his trip less than 1 month before the departure date, he shall be obliged to pay the full amount at the time of booking. |
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| Article 8 Transferability of the booking |
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Prior to his departure, the traveler shall be allowed to transfer his trip to a third person who in turn shall satisfy all conditions of the travel contract. Before departure, the transferor is under an obligation to timely notify the tour operator or the intermediary travel agent (if any) of this transfer. This transfer cannot take place closer than 4 weeks before departure. |
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The transferor and the transferee shall be jointly and severally responsible for the payment of the total price of the excursion and of the expenses incurred by the transfer. |
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| Article 9 Other changes requested by the traveler |
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| In the event that the traveler should request other changes, the tour operator and/or the intermediary travel agent shall be entitled to charge him accordingly for all resulting extra costs. |
| Article 10 Changes by the tour operator prior to departure |
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If prior to departure one of the essential conditions of the contract cannot be met, the tour operator is under an obligation to inform the traveler accordingly and always prior to departure, and to advise him about his right to annul the contract without penalties, unless he accepts the change proposed by the tour operator. |
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Prior to departure the traveler is under an obligation to inform the tour operator or the intermediary travel agent as soon as possible of his decision in this respect. |
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If the traveler decides to accept the change, a new contract or an addendum shall be drawn up, mentioning the said change and its impact on the price for the trip. |
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Should the traveler refuse to accept the change, he shall be entitled to demand the application of article 11. |
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| Article 11 Cancellation of the contract by the tour operator prior to departure |
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In the event that the tour operator cancels the trip prior to departure for reasons not attributable to the traveler, the latter shall have a choice between:
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either accept a new offer for a trip of equal or superior quality, without payment of a supplement; if the excursion proposed as a substitute is of an inferior quality compared to the original trip, the tour operator is under an obligation to refund the difference in price as soon as possible; |
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or demand the immediate refunding of all amounts paid by him on the basis of the contract. |
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The traveler shall also be entitled, should the case arise, to claim indemnification for breach of contract unless:
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the tour operator has cancelled the trip because he failed to sign up the minimum number of participants as stipulated in the contract and required to proceed with the trip and if he has informed the traveler in writing at the time stipulated in the contract and at the latest 15 calendar days before departure; |
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the cancellation was caused by an act of God (force majeure) excluding overbooking. An act of God is defined as an act, event, happening, or occurrence, due to natural causes and inevitable accident, or disaster; a natural and inevitable necessity which implies entire exclusion of all human agency which operates without interference or aid from man and which results from natural causes and is in no sense attributable to human agency. |
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| Article 12 Complete or partial failure to execute the trip |
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In the event that during the trip it appears that a significant part of the services stated in the contract cannot be rendered, the tour operator is under an obligation to take all steps to offer the traveler suitable alternatives at no extra cost so that the trip can continue. |
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If the anticipated and actual services rendered differ, the tour operator shall compensate the traveler to the amount of this difference. |
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In case such an arrangement is not feasible, or if the traveler refuses to accept such alternatives for good reason, the tour operator is under an obligation to offer an equivalent mode of transportation to the traveler so that the traveler can return to the place of departure and, should the case arise, indemnify the traveler. |
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| Article 13 Cancellation of the contract by the traveler |
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| The traveler shall be entitled at all times to cancel the contract either partially or in its entirety. In the event that the traveler terminates the contract for reasons attributable to him, he is under an obligation to compensate the tour operator and the intermediary travel agent for the losses they may suffer as a result of his action. The compensation for damages may be established as a fixed sum and shall not exceed the price of the trip. |
| Article 14 Liability of the tour operator |
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The tour operator shall be responsible for the proper execution of the contract, conform to the expectations that the traveler may reasonably entertain based on the provisions with respect to the trip organization as stated in the contract, and he shall assume liability for the obligations resulting from the contract in question, irrespective of whether such obligations are incumbent on himself or on other service providers and such without prejudice to the right of the tour operator to hold the latter accountable for such services. |
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The tour operator shall remain equally liable for acts of negligence committed by his representatives in the performance of their duties as for his own acts and shortcomings. |
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Should an international treaty be applicable to a service included in the travel contract, the tour operator's liability shall, should the case arise, be excluded or limited, pursuant to the terms of that treaty. |
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In so far as the tour operator does not himself provide the services mentioned in the travel contract, his liability for material losses and the compensation for loss of travel enjoyment shall jointly be limited to twice the amount of the travel fee. |
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Furthermore, articles 18 and 19 of the Act mentioned in article 1 apply. |
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| Article 15 Liability of the traveler |
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| The traveler shall be held liable for the losses incurred by the tour operator and/or intermediary travel agent, their staff or their representative as a result of a fault committed by him, as well as in case of his failure to abide by his contractual commitments. The fault shall be judged on the basis of what is considered a traveler’s normal conduct. |
| Article 16 Lodging complaints |
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Prior to departure:
Prior to the execution of the travel contract, the traveler must as soon as possible submit any complaints to the intermediary travel agent or the tour operator, by registered letter or notice against receipt. |
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During the trip:
During the execution of the travel contract, the traveler must as soon as possible lodge complaints in loco, in a suitable and substantiated form, in order that a solution for the problem may be found. To that end, he shall contact - in this order - a representative of the tour operator or a representative of the intermediary travel agent, or the intermediary travel agent himself or the tour operator himself. |
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After the trip:
In the event that the complaint was not satisfactorily dealt with on the spot, or if it was not possible for the traveler to formulate a complaint in loco, it shall be incumbent on him to lodge his complaint at the latest one month following the travel agreement with the intermediary travel agent or, otherwise, with the tour operator, by registered letter or by notice against receipt. |
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| Article 17 Commission for Traveling Disputes |
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A “dispute” occurs when a complaint cannot be settled amicably, or is not resolved within 4 months from the end of the travel contract, or from the scheduled departure date in cases where the travel contract was never executed. |
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Every dispute arising out of this contract and following the conclusion of a travel contract as meant in article 1 of the present general conditions and wherein the traveler is involved, shall be heard exclusively by the Commission for Traveling Disputes, with the exception of litigation proceedings over physical injury. If the defendant is a consumer he has the right to object to the hearing of the case by the Commission for Traveling Disputes.
In that case he should notify the secretariat of the Commission for Traveling Disputes of his objection to have the case heard by said commission. He should notify his decision no later than 15 calendar days after having received notice that the case will be heard by said commission by registered letter. |
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The hearing and the decision are conducted pursuant to Disputes Regulations and the provisions of the Judicial Code regarding arbitration (art. 1676-1723).
The decision has binding force for the parties concerned and no appeal is allowed. Costs are due as provided by the Disputes Regulations. |
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The use of these general conditions presupposes acceptance of all rulings and decisions as made by the Commission for Traveling Disputes, in particular the Disputes Regulations. |
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The address of the Commission for Traveling Disputes is
North Gate III, Koning AlbertII-laan 16, 1000 Brussel |
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