Recital (14)

In certain situations, voluntary vouchers can serve as a useful alternative to refunds. Vouchers can give more flexibility to organisers, particularly when they are required to make numerous refunds within a short period of time. At the same time, vouchers can be acceptable to travellers who do not require an immediate refund, provided that there are specific legal guarantees. Therefore, clear rules for such guarantees should be established. Those guarantees should include compulsory information on the voluntary nature and the characteristics of the voucher, including clear information that the traveller’s refund right is suspended only if the traveller expressly accepts the voucher. The requirement that the traveller must expressly accept the voucher means that acceptance cannot be implied, but that the traveller must express it actively. Such acceptance should be expressed using a durable medium. Vouchers should be issued using a durable medium and include information on the characteristics of the voucher and the traveller’s rights. That information should include the amount that the traveller is entitled to receive as a refund (the traveller’s refund right) and the value of the voucher. Organisers should be able to make vouchers more attractive, for example by increasing their value compared to the traveller’s refund right. In such cases, insolvency protection should be limited to the amount of the traveller’s refund right.