What are my rights if the tour operator cancels my holiday?
Package holidays carry statutory obligations that a set of separately booked components does not — a refund within a fixed period, an alternative of equivalent quality, and compensation in defined circumstances.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 16 min
- Read
- 3 min
Short answer
If it is a package, the organiser must give you a full refund within the period the Package Travel Regulations specify, or offer a suitable alternative which you may accept or refuse. Compensation is additionally due unless the cancellation was for unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances or because too few people booked and you were told within the contractual notice period.
Everything here turns on whether you bought a package. A package is a defined thing: broadly, two or more different types of travel service for the same trip, sold together for an inclusive price or advertised as a package. It is not decided by whether the seller calls itself a tour operator, and it can be created by booking two components in one transaction on a website.
Step by step
- Establish whether it is a package.Look for an ATOL certificate if a flight is involved, or a statement that the booking is protected under the Package Travel Regulations. If two or more travel services were bought together in one transaction for one price, it very likely is.
- Read what you have been offered, carefully.An organiser cancelling a package may offer an alternative. You are entitled to a full refund instead if you prefer, and if the alternative is of lower quality you are entitled to a price reduction as well.
- Insist on a refund within the statutory period.The Regulations set the period within which a refund must be paid after cancellation. Vouchers may be offered but you do not have to accept one, and a voucher accepted in place of a refund may carry different protection.
- Work out whether compensation is due on top.It is, unless the organiser cancelled because of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances at the destination or on the route, or because the minimum number of bookings was not reached and you were notified inside the period stated in the contract.
- Deal with the organiser, not the airline or hotel.The organiser is responsible for the whole package under the Regulations, including the performance of the individual suppliers. Chasing an airline directly for a package component wastes time.
- Escalate properly if it stalls.Complain in writing to the organiser and ask for a final response. If it is a member of a trade association with a dispute scheme, use it. If the organiser fails or refuses and you paid by card, the Section 75 or chargeback route is available.
- Check the significant change rules too.The Regulations also cover a significant change to the holiday before departure — a materially different resort, a substantially altered departure time, a change of accommodation category. You can accept it, accept an alternative, or cancel with a full refund.
Tips
- Book the whole trip in one transaction with one seller if you want package protection. Booking flight, hotel and transfer separately from three sites gets you three unconnected contracts and none of the statutory protections.
- Keep the original brochure, screenshots of the listing and the confirmation. A significant change claim depends on being able to show what was originally promised.
- The Regulations also apply to linked travel arrangements in a narrower way, so an ATOL certificate is worth looking for even on a booking you did not think of as a package.
Questions people ask
Can they make me take a voucher?
No. You are entitled to a refund. A voucher is only binding if you agree to it, and you should check what happens to it if the organiser later fails.
What if the organiser changes the hotel a week before?
That is a significant change if the alteration is material. You can accept it, take a suitable alternative, or cancel with a full refund, and a price reduction applies if what you get is worth less.
Does it help that I booked through a comparison site?
Only if the site sold you a package or a linked travel arrangement. Many comparison sites pass you to the supplier, in which case the contract and the protection are with the supplier.