These Regulations implement Council Directive 90/314/EEC on package travel, package holidays, and package tours (OJ No. L158, 13 June 1990, p.59).

The Regulations control the sale and performance of packages sold or offered for sale in the UK. Packages are defined as the pre-arranged combination of at least two of the following when sold or offered for sale at an inclusive price and when the service covers a period of 24 hours or more or includes overnight accommodation: transport; accommodation; other tourist services not ancillary to transport or accommodation and accounting for a significant proportion of the package.

The Regulations set out what information must be given to the consumer before the contract is concluded (including information to be in brochures, where one is published) and information which must be given to the consumer before the package starts. They lay down terms which must be included in the contract and prescribe the circumstances in which price revisions may be made. They provide that the other party to the contract (ie the organiser and/or retailer, as the case may be) should be strictly liable to the consumer for the proper performance of the obligations under the contract, irrespective of whether such obligations are to be provided by that other party or by other suppliers of services. They also provide that the other party to the contract shall provide sufficient evidence of security for the refund of money paid over and for the repatriation of the consumer in the event of insolvency.

The Regulations will be enforced by local weights and measures authorities in Great Britain and by the Department of Economic Development in Northern Ireland.