204 LEGAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY individual service providers and, in any case, no later than 60 days from the date scheduled for the start of the trip. It is clear that the rationale for this rule lies in first having the voucher issued or the reimbursement paid by the subject who received the cash flows and is in possession of it. So, if the tour operator has already paid its suppliers, he will wait for them to issue the voucher in his favour and, in turn, he will issue it to the traveller. Considering, however, the already difficult position of the traveller, who is denied the right to choose, it would seem that, in this way, his situation is further aggravated, precisely where he should have been even more protected due to the discipline recently reformed by the European Community12. Apparently – and theoretically –, the result becomes this: if one person purchased an accommodation service directly from the hotelier, he will be refunded or will receive a voucher within 30 days from his request. If, on the other hand, the same person purchased an accommodation service in an all-inclusive package, he will have to wait up to 60 days before the start of the trip to be reimbursed or to receive a voucher from the tour operator (even more serious scenario if we consider the 14 days the maximum reimbursement term for the traveller provided for by Directive 2015/2302). Given the reality, and the timing of the events, the situation is less serious, considering that, to date, many of the packages foresee a departure before 60 days. 3.3. The new paragraph 11 of Article 88bis Paragraph 11 establishes that, apart from the cases provided for in paragraphs 1 through 7, for all relations concerning the contracts referred to in this article and established with effect from 11 March 2020 to 30 September 2020 in the entire national territory, as well as for the services in favour of contractors from abroad when the services are not rendered due to the effects deriving from the epidemiological state of emergency from COVID-19, the already received counter-performance can be returned by a voucher of the same amount valid for one year from emission. The provision seems to refer to all those cases, currently not included in the application of the law, as they are not yet temporarily affected by the restrictive measures, whether they concern the incoming, or that concern the national territory or the outgoing. If the performance of these trips is also made 12 Directive (EU) 2015/2302 of the Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015. Article 28 did not provide for this, it allowed the tour operator to claim exclusively against carriers and did not bind the refund or issue of the voucher by the tour operator to the previous refund or voucher issued by the carrier.
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