CEFTA facilitates tourism services - Aims for fewer barriers for operators in regional markets
A draft law has been submitted to the Assembly to ratify the decision of the CEFTA Joint Committee, which aims to open up more avenues for travel agencies and tour operators to offer services in the regional market with fewer barriers and more unified rules. The decision, adopted in October 2024, is based on the principles of the EU Services Directive, but applies only between CEFTA parties and only to operators coming from these countries.
Firstly, for tourism operators, better access to the regional market and equal treatment are aimed at, guaranteeing non-discrimination. This means that an operator from Albania, in principle, should no longer be treated differently just because they come from another CEFTA party, thus expanding the space where they can offer services.
Secondly, it creates the possibility to provide services on a temporary basis in another party to the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), without having to open an office there. In order to avoid different bureaucracies from country to country, it is foreseen that the host party, when it considers it necessary, will request a prior declaration in electronic format.
Furthermore, the document aims to facilitate licensing procedures for travel agencies and tour operators. In practice, the idea is to make the rules clearer and more comparable across the CEFTA area, so that operators do not face different barriers when moving from one market to another.
The decision also places restrictions on barriers that cost operators time and money. It is envisaged that parties should not impose requirements that assess the provision of a service, such as additional licenses or double declarations, as well as to avoid discriminatory restrictions on financial benefits, simply because the operator has a commercial presence in another party, as these are precisely the obstacles that make it difficult for an operator to expand in the regional market, even when the services are temporary.
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