The situation for the package travel industry is serious. The pandemic has created a situation where many travelers have not received a refund for trips that have been canceled, cancelled or shortened. The government has therefore decided on a regulation on a state loan to package travel organizers to enable them to repay their remaining debts to travelers.
For companies that want to apply for a government loan
The application for the government loan is made to the Swedish Agency for Public Administration and Public Finance.
If a package holiday is cancelled, the traveller has the right to a refund within 14 days under applicable law. The traveller can also cancel free of charge and is entitled to a refund if the package holiday is significantly affected by unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.
The pandemic has meant that package tour operators, according to the Package Travel Act (2018:1217), must repay large sums to travelers for canceled, cancelled or shortened trips for a short period of time, regardless of whether they have received corresponding funds back from their subcontractors, for example from hotels and airlines. To enable organizers to pay remaining debts, a time-limited government loan option is being introduced. The loan runs for 3 or 6 years at a low interest rate.
The loan may relate to refunds for trips booked before October 31, 2020 and that were to have commenced sometime during the period March 1, 2020 – January 31, 2021, or that commenced and were cancelled during that period.
The first application date is February 10. Kammarkollegiet is the administering authority and the application must have been received by the authority no later than March 1 of this year so that the loans can be disbursed as soon as possible.
The possibility of a government loan for package tour operators is based on an agreement between the government parties, the Center Party and the Liberals.
