Tour operator contracts
Your client is the tour operator, but the traveller is at your destination
Contracts with tour operators and travel agencies: services, standards, liability, payments and right of recourse.
Lawyers for DMCs and inbound operators
15+ years advising travel distribution businesses. Legal and tax advice for DMCs: tour operators and local suppliers, transfers and excursions, MICE, licences, data and VAT.
Local suppliers
You rely on third-party coaches, guides and activities in every destination
Contracts with carriers, guides, activity providers and local hotels: insurance, licences and allocation of liability.
Transfers and excursions
An accident on a transfer or excursion ends in an international claim
Insurance, service terms, incident protocols and defence against claims from travellers and tour operators.
MICE and events
Incentives and conferences with hundreds of attendees and last-minute cancellations
Event and incentive contracts: guaranteed minimums, cancellation, force majeure and liability.
Licences at destination
You operate in several countries, each with its own agency and transport licences
Inbound agency, transport and guide licences in each destination, coordinated with local lawyers.
Data protection (GDPR)
You receive passenger lists from tour operators all over the world
Each party’s GDPR role, processing agreements with clients and suppliers, and international transfers.
VAT and REAV
You sell destination services to foreign tour operators: REAV or the general scheme?
VAT on destination services for non-established clients: REAV, opting for the general scheme and invoicing.
International tax
Offices in several destinations and payments from clients in many countries
Permanent establishment, subsidiaries at destination, transfer pricing and withholding taxes.
Coordinated legal and tax advice for DMCs, in every destination where you operate
How we work with DMCs
From the tour operator contract to the service at destination
We know the whole chain: the tour operator that sells, the DMC that operates and the local supplier that provides the service. We review your contracts so that each link is liable for what it should be.
One-off review
A contract with a tour operator, the terms of a MICE event or a VAT question involving a foreign client.
Fixed-scope project
Templates for clients and suppliers, a review of insurance and liability or opening a new destination.
In-house legal team
We work as your legal department: with operations, sales and finance, all year round.
“We worked with Mylegalinbox, and especially with Júlia Forn, on a particularly complex matter with implications across several areas of law. I would highlight their closeness, availability and very practical approach, as well as their ability to weigh risks and alternatives, quickly understand the needs of the business and provide clear, solution-oriented advice.”
Pau VidalHead of Legal, TUI Musement
Common legal and tax questions for a DMC
Is a DMC liable to the traveller if something goes wrong at destination?
In a package, the organiser, usually the tour operator, is liable to the traveller and may then seek recourse against the DMC if the failure was the DMC’s. That is why the contract between them must cover liability, insurance and their limits. If the DMC sells directly to the traveller, it may take on those obligations itself.
What VAT does a Spanish DMC apply when providing services to a foreign tour operator?
It depends on whether it acts in its own name and on the type of service. The special VAT scheme for travel agencies (REAV) may apply, with the option of the general scheme for certain transactions with businesses; in that case, services such as transport or accommodation follow their own place-of-supply rules.
What should a MICE or incentive contract include?
The scope of services and the budget, guaranteed minimums and the payment schedule, the cancellation and attrition policy, force majeure, insurance and liability, and data protection for attendees.
Does a DMC need a travel agency licence in Spain?
Travel agency activity is regulated by each autonomous community, which usually requires a declaración responsable (statutory declaration) or registration in its tourism register. Other countries have their own requirements, which we analyse for each destination where you operate.
Do you advise companies based outside Spain?
Yes. We have clients in Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. We negotiate multi-jurisdictional contracts and coordinate with local lawyers where each country’s rules require it.
What contract do I need with a DMC that sells through a tour operator’s website?
A distribution agreement that makes clear who the organiser is vis-à-vis the traveller, who collects payment and in whose name, who is liable for performance of the services, how cancellations and refunds are handled, what pre-contractual information the website displays and how travellers’ data is processed.
If I charge the supplier a commission instead of a margin, am I a travel agency?
How you get paid is not decisive on its own. What matters is what you sell, in whose name you contract with the traveller and whether you combine services. Charging a commission fits with acting as an intermediary, but if you organise or sell packages, or your region reserves travel intermediation to travel agencies, you will still need to be one.
Tell us how you operate at destination
30 minutes with the team to review risks and priorities.
Or, if you prefer, email us and we’ll get back to you.
information@mylegalinbox.com