Package travel is usually paid for in advance, and package travel operators may have considerable sums of money at their disposal from advance payments made by consumers. Package travel operators must therefore furnish the Consumer Agency with security in case of travel being interrupted or cancelled due to bankruptcy or other insolvency.
The monitoring of package travel operators is based on an EC Directive and is the responsibility of the Finnish Consumer Agency in Finland (Travel Agency Decree 366/1995).
The Consumer Agency maintains a register of package travel companies operating in Finland. Registration is mandatory. The register is public, and consumers can check that a company is registered before they purchase a trip.
Prior to registration, a package travel operator must furnish security in case of bankruptcy to compensate for
Securities are proportional to the company's obligations. If necessary, a company's expenses may be evened out, using what is referred to as a periodic arrangement for security.
The Consumer Agency may release a package travel operator from the security requirement if the travel is paid for afterwards.
Travel agents are not covered by security, and so must tell the buyer of package travel who the responsible operator is.