The Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden (HFD) has issued a judgment in case No. 6588-21 concerning the application of the Travel Guarantee Act (2018:1218). The key issue addressed by the Court was whether a sports tournament constitutes a tourist service under Chapter 1, Section 2, item 4 of the Package Travel Act (2018:1217), when offered to participants in the tournament.
Background
The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency (Kammarkollegiet) had determined that a sports association planning to organise a handball tournament was required to provide a travel guarantee, as the event was considered to constitute a tourist service which, combined with accommodation, formed a package travel arrangement under the Package Travel Act.
Both the Administrative Court in Stockholm (Case No. 386-21) and the Administrative Court of Appeal in Stockholm (Case No. 3269-21) agreed with Kammarkollegiet, finding that the sports association had provided a tourist service and thus arranged a package trip requiring a travel guarantee.
Supreme Administrative Court's Assessment
Contrary to the lower courts, HFD found that a sports tournament does not constitute a tourist service. The Court referred to Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel and linked travel arrangements, which lists examples of tourist services, such as “tickets to concerts, sports events, excursions or theme parks, guided tours, ski passes and hire of sports equipment such as ski equipment, or spa treatments.” This same list appears in the legislative history of the Swedish Package Travel Act (Government Bill 2017/18:225, p. 104).
HFD interpreted this list to mean that, in the case of sports events, it is the access to such events as a spectator that qualifies as a tourist service. Participation in a sports tournament, as was the case here, differs materially from the examples listed in the Directive. Therefore, the Court concluded that the Directive was not intended to include active participation in a sports tournament within the definition of a tourist service.
The decision by Kammarkollegiet concerned a handball tournament scheduled for summer 2021, which was later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HFD noted that the matter was no longer relevant and saw no grounds to grant leave to appeal in the remaining parts of the case.
Commentary
In light of HFD’s clarification regarding the term tourist service, and specifically its application to sports events, it is now clear that organisers of sporting competitions, tournaments or similar events are not required to provide a travel guarantee under the current legislation.
The arrangement in question involved a competitive sporting event (a handball tournament). This raises the question of whether the ruling also applies to non-competitive contexts, such as sports camps.
In our assessment, the ruling does not apply to camps. HFD explicitly tied the definition of a sports event under the Directive to the presence of spectators. Unlike tournaments, camps do not typically involve spectators in the same way, which means this new ruling would not likely apply to organisers of sports camps.
Instead, guidance for organisers of such camps should, in our view, be sought in earlier case law, such as HFD 2015 ref. 2, which concerned a sailing camp arranged by a non-profit association. In that case, HFD held that the sailing camp constituted a tourist service, and the organiser was thus required to provide a travel guarantee. It should be noted, however, that the previous version of the Package Travel Act applied at the time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, whether an organiser is required to provide a travel guarantee depends heavily on whether they are arranging a sports competition or a sports camp. The legal distinction now confirmed by HFD provides important clarification in this area.
