The European Commission is to revise the Package Travel Directive (PTD), designed to protect holidaymakers from fraudulent package tour operators.

The original PTD was introduced to provide consumers with a form of insurance against the fraudulent selling of holidays and the prospect of being stranded if an operator went bankrupt. When launched in 1990, it covered around 90 per cent of all European holiday packages.

However, the increase in the number of consumers putting together their own packages – mainly through dedicated travel websites – has lead to estimations that currently only 60 per cent of holiday packages are covered by the legislation.

Kurt Janson, policy director at Tourism Alliance, said: “It’s heartening to hear that work on revising the directive will begin shortly.

“However, as the European Commission is not the most nimble of creatures, it has also warned consumers not to expect any new legislation until at least 2010.”