Unfair commercial practice in tourism sector Sara Landini

Marketing  Marketing involves activities of:  - Market planning  - Market research that is the planned and systematic collection and analysis of data designed to help the management organization to take decisions  - Determining product policy  - Pricing the product t  - Designing marketing communications.

Marketing  Marketing communication is a significant part of the relationship between tourism companies (hotel, travel agencies, tour operators etc.) and consumers.

AIDA- Formula  A - Attention (Awareness): attract the attention of the customer.  I - Interest: raise customer interest by focusing on and demonstrating advantages and benefits (instead of focusing on features, as in traditional advertising).  D - Desire: convince customers that they want and desire the product or service and that it will satisfy their needs.  A - Action: lead customers towards taking action and/or purchasing

Wrongful Advertising  If conditions of fairness are met, this form of advertising will help demonstrate objectively the merits of the various comparable products.  On the contrary, misleading and unlawful comparative advertising can lead to distortion of competition within the internal market. Advertising is considered misleading when it deceives or is likely to deceive the persons to whom it is addressed or whom it reaches and by reason of its deceptive nature, is likely to affect their economic behaviour and/or, for those reasons, injures or is likely to injure a competitor

Wrongful Advertising  Most recently, there is the Directive 2006/114/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of December concerning misleading and comparative advertising (O J L 376, 27/12/2006 P – 0027).

Wrongful Advertising  According to article 3 of this Directive, in determining whether advertising is misleading, shall be taken into account all its features, and in particular any information concerning:  “(a) the characteristics of goods or services, such as their availability, nature, execution, composition, method and date of manufacture or provision, fitness for purpose, uses, quantity, specification, geographical or commercial origin or the results to be expected from their use, or the results and material features of tests or checks carried out on the goods or services;  (b) the price or the manner in which the price is calculated, and the conditions on which the goods are supplied or the services provided;  (c) the nature, attributes and rights of the advertiser, such as his identity and assets, his qualifications and ownership of industrial, commercial or intellectual property rights or his awards and distinctions.”

Wrongful advertising  According to article 5 EU Dir. 2005/29/EC “A commercial practice shall be unfair if: (a) it is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence, and (b) it materially distorts or is likely to materially distort the economic behavior with regard to the product of the average consumer whom it reaches or to whom it is addressed, or of the average member of the group when a commercial practice is directed to a particular group of consumers.”