90 TOURISM LAW IN EUROPE 6.5. Force Majeure and Contracts One lesson that can be drawn from the health crisis and the difficulties it raised with regard to the application of the force majeure theory in the travel sector is the need to provide for the terms of force majeure by contract. Certainly, it is possible to modulate the conditions and effects of force majeure by contract. By inserting a force majeure clause in the contract with the traveller, it is possible to determine by agreement which events are to be regarded as force majeure events and what consequences follow. This will avoid situations of legal uncertainty between the parties, who will have to stick to what is stated in the contract; for example, with regard to the current health situation, it may be expressly provided that any health crisis is to be considered as an event of force majeure that leads to a definitive impossibility of performance. In the event that a party refuses to comply with the contract, it is interesting to note that the courts will generally respect the terms of the contract because it is seen as powerful expression of the mutual agreement between parties. Providing for the terms of force majeure by contract seems, therefore, to be a useful way to avoid unpleasant surprises and to foresee in advance the situations in which no cancellation fees can be charged. Conversely, one should keep in mind that the 2017 Law is mandatory. If the accommodation is part of a package, the articles governing the “extraordinary circumstances” will prevail for the traveller. 7. CONCLUSION With this contribution, which is certainly not exhaustive, we hope to have provided the reader with an overview of the tourist situation in Belgium and the applicable travel rules. As this article has shown, Belgium is a country that has a lot to offer in terms of tourism. While it is true that the sector has been hit very hard this past year by the health crisis, the tourist industry, with the help of the government and the Belgian travel sector, is constantly finding solutions to get through this unprecedented crisis. Will the Belgian tourism industry ever recover from COVID-19? We believe so. The end of this crisis rests on the ability to safely get people to come out of their homes and resume their activities as before the crisis by discovering, visiting, travelling, eating out, and simply socialising. The most promising solution that seems to be open to us is to be found in an efficient and accessible vaccine.
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