THE COMMITMENT OF CRUISE TOUR OPERATORS TO THE TOURIST SAFETY AND SECURITY IN THE ALGERIAN LAW (COMPARATIVE STUDY)
Marine transport has developed worldwide. As a result, the design of passenger ships has improved since they are considered the main residence location of passengers and tourists. Thus, ships have become floating hotels, where recreational activities, leisure and celebrations are found. This has turned cruise tours have into a lucrative business. Alongside the boom that marine tourism has witnessed as one of the most dynamic sectors in the tourism industry, tragic events, that cannot be ignored, took place. One of these events was the sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship in 2012 that caused many deaths and injuries among passengers and tourists on board. This event evokes the question of the responsibility of cruise tour operators, its range and its limits. In contrast with the Egyptian and French laws that distinguish between the responsibility system of the tour operator and that of the marine transporter, the Algerian law does not make any distinction between the two systems, resulting in legal shortcomings in the case of damage that affects tourists. This latter is subject to the marine transporter legal system concerning commitment and responsibility, where the damage must be in relation to the use of the ship, which implies that bodily and material damages are not included, resulting in the decrease in the protection expectation level of the tourist consumer. In addition to the above, the lack of a distinction between the two responsibility systems leads to the multiplication of law sources and to the difficulty of its legal characterization that helps in determining the responsibility of the professionals held responsible for the tourist safety and committed to their security.
Keywords: Marine Tourism; Cruise Tours; Safety Commitment; Tourists; Transporter; Tour Operator.