Brexit and the UK’s travel and tourism industry
Professor of European Union Law and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law, Professor Panos Koutrakos, says that a number of areas where EU membership makes travel to the EU easier could be adversely affected in the event of Britain’s departure from the EU.
He says the areas affected could include: consumer rights for travellers who book package holidays; access to emergency medical care on the basis of the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC); air passenger rights in cases of delays or cancellation of flights, and; caps on roaming fees (and abolition of such fees in April 2017).
Professor Koutrakos shared his view as part of The Guardian Small Business Network’s EU Referendum panel.
Panellists, who also included Catherine Barnard, University of Cambridge Professor in European and Employment Law and Ian Cass, Managing Director of the Forum of Private Business, were asked to respond to the question: What could Brexit mean for the UK’s travel and tourism industry?
Read the contributions of all the panellists in full.
Note: The views expressed in this post are those of the author and not of City University London.
The European Health Insurance Card (or EHIC) is issued free of charge and allows anyone who is insured by or covered by a statutory social security scheme of the EEA countries and Switzerland to receive medical treatment in another member state free or at a reduced cost, if that treatment becomes necessary during their visit (for example, due to illness or an accident), or if they have a chronic pre-existing condition which requires care such as kidney dialysis. The term of validity of the card varies according to the issuing country.
