WHY YOU SHOULDN’T CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY
Source: cnntraveller.com
As inboxes heave with ‘a message from our founders’ sent by retailers, service providers and every single hotel you’ve ever stayed at, with updates on hygiene policies and terms and conditions when it comes to cancellations, what is key to look for is flexibility. Not only have hotels and operators lost all their customers, but all the bookings they did have require many man-hours to rejig and replan. With zero revenue coming in, let’s imagine how it must be on the other side.
Travel agents are showing us their mettle and value right now. Years of building up knowledge so they can share expertise and insight to ensure the greatest of escapes. Times such as this certainly demonstrate the advantage of booking through a human or reputable agency; they’ve got our backs and they know the small print, inside out. And that deserves our loyalty. What are our rights? Well, SETO (Syndicat des Entreprises du Tour Opérating) in France just got the go-ahead from the government to delay trips and issue vouchers to clients, rather than offering full reimbursements – it seems harsh, but perhaps we ought to postpone and feel complicit rather than short-changed. ABTA is working to protect organisers who may have suppliers who are unable to refund – yes, there might be emergency funds to limit consumer hardship, but it could be for the best to avoid the headache and just push that trip back. It might be better for everyone in the long run.
As thoughts of organic, plastic-free lives are gazumped by an appetite for antibacterial gels and latex gloves, please keep nurturing that conscience for the greater good when it comes to the world as a whole. Think of the most vulnerable humans at the end of the supply chains in the most deprived parts of the world who are having any flow of tourism totally cut off. ‘Rescheduling holidays also maintains that much-needed anticipation which gives us something to look forward to and helps us to all see the light at the end of the tunnel,’ says James Jayasundera, founder of Ampersand Travel.