An Overview of Tourism Law in the UK Sarah Prager1 1. Introduction; 2. Package Tourism: The Package Travel and Linked Package Arrangements Regulations 2018; 3. Carriage by Air: Montreal Convention; 4. Carriage by Sea: Athens Convention; 5. Hotels and Caterers; 6. Brexit; 7. COVID-19; 8. Conclusions. 1. INTRODUCTION The United Kingdom comprises three entirely separate legal systems: England and Wales, Northern Ireland and, finally, Scotland. Although similar, the laws applicable in the different jurisdictions are, for cultural and historical reasons, not identical. Nevertheless, the policy considerations behind those laws are alike, and the UK’s membership of the European Union, at least until recently, has led to greater harmonisation of law between the countries that make up the nation-state – it remains to be seen whether Brexit will lead to greater fragmentation between jurisdictions. It is clear that, at the time of writing, the law is in a state of flux, with some EU law retained, but whole swathes discarded, for example, concerning jurisdictional matters – Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, also known as “Recast Brussels”, no longer governs jurisdiction in the UK, but Regulation (EC) No 864/2007, also known as “Rome II” continues to govern matters of applicable law. The UK legal systems are all common law precedent-based systems, with very little by way of codification of civil law, but tourism is an area which is highly regulated, and so the primary sources of UK tourism law are legislative, with the judicial interpretation of those sources being a further, secondary, aid to understanding. A full and comprehensive treatment of UK tourism law requires an entire book in itself, and is beyond the scope of this chapter; rather, a summary will be given of the general legal principles applicable in various touristic contexts, with, thereafter, a short consideration of the anticipated effects of Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. 1 Barrister at 1 Chancery Lane specialising in travel law; Chairwoman of the Travel and Tourism Lawyers Association.
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