Poland Approves Law Allowing Travel Vouchers for Canceled Trips

Poland's parliament, the Sejm, has unanimously passed Senate amendments to a law governing tourist events and related services. This legislative change enables travel agencies to offer clients vouchers as compensation for canceled trips. The amendments, described as clarifying in nature, were proposed by the Senate's legislative office and originated from the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, influenced by the travel industry's experiences and requests.

The updated law introduces a mechanism allowing tour operators to offer travelers a voucher for a future trip in lieu of immediate refunds. This provision applies when a tourist event cannot proceed due to "unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances" occurring in Poland or at the destination. Crucially, if a traveler accepts a voucher, their right to cancel the original booking and demand a refund becomes void.

Vouchers issued under this new law will be valid for one year. Both the traveler and the tour operator can agree to extend the voucher's validity for an additional year. However, if the voucher remains unused after two years, the customer is entitled to an automatic refund of the funds within 14 days. This measure draws parallels to a temporary solution implemented in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic and aligns with a recent EU directive on package travel.

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If the health insurance contribution is not settled due to the announcement or occurrence of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances in the territory of the Republic of Poland or at the place of implementation of the tourist event, the tour operator may, instead, grant the traveler, with their consent, a tourist voucher for a future tourist event.