Are you even ready to start travelling again?

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/06/2020 (2188 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SINCE the cancellation of flights and tours as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have received many emails and online comments— all concerned about refunds and credits.

While airlines have offered vouchers or credits instead of refunds, many Manitobans, and Canadians, are not satisfied. There are often end dates applied when travel must be completed with some restrictions for use —and many require the money now — even if you don’t know when you will feel like travelling again.

Earlier the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), the body responsible for air passenger rights — issued a statement which read that is was fair that the airlines “strike a fair and sensible balance between passenger protection and airlines’ operational realities. Generally, speaking an appropriate approach in the current context could be for airlines to provide affected passengers with vouchers or credits for future travel.”

Normally cancelled flights would lead to the option for full refunds. After consumer rights advocates such as Gabor Lukacs, of the Air Passenger Rights organization, suggested such a policy went beyond the CTA mandate, the CTA added an addendum making their comments sound like a recommendation more than a policy.

Lukacs, who has won a number of court battles against the CTA, has filed an appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal regarding this issue.

Hopefully the legal issues and the federal balancing act will be resolved sooner rather than later.

While many of the comments I have received were about refunds instead of credits or vouchers, a bigger challenge — because of the dollars involved, revolves around refund issues with land tour operators in Canada and abroad — especially relating to group travel.

It is common for travellers to book a tour with an operator and then make their own arrangements for flights.

Such is the example of a Manitoba Cultural group who planned a tour of Ukraine in August. The land operator refuses to return any funds because it is telling its clients as far as it is concerned, the tour is still on—even though getting to Ukraine may be a challenge. Even if flights are available, COVID-19 fears have forced the cancellation of the trip since a significant percentage of the original group recognized that both the Ukraine, and airline gateway cities, have not fared as well as Manitoba has under the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to one of the organizers, this smaller independent Canadian tour operator has been honest, suggesting if the dollars are returned the organization is in danger of going bankrupt.

Those who purchased travel insurance may have some reimbursement opportunities if flights are not available in August.

The same frustration seems to exist for travellers who booked a 75th anniversary liberation tour of Belgium, the Netherlands and France, sponsored by the Winnipeg Symphony orchestra. The tour has been postponed until 2022 — but a regular reader has not been willing to wait, and has not been able to get his tour investment returned.

Where does this all lead? As destinations start to open and flights prepare for a return to international travel, it will be our personal legitimate or perceived fears of travelling again, which may lead to resolutions or not.

Jamaica, which has fared reasonably well over this period, will open its borders for tourists again on June 15. They have had less than 600 cases and only nine deaths. Will you be willing to go back to this treasured island again this winter?

While Thailand is taking a go-slow approach to opening their tourist borders, their daily new cases have been between one and 10 — and are continuing to drop under strong stay-at-home measures.

Will Canadians return to this amazing destination by fall, or will fear rule over the desire to experience the countries magnificence?

More and more of the nations least affected by COVID-19 will be looking for, and need a return to travel from foreign visitors to rebuild their economies.

To ease concerns, airlines are underscoring that the filtration systems on today’s aircraft are as effective as those in a hospital.

If a country is open for business, and people have booked and paid for a trip there with a land operator who wants them to take that journey contracted for, to what degree should they be responding to the health concerns of their clients.

The insurance package the clients may have purchased will not come into effect if the transportation and tours are all available at the original time of departure, and there are no Government of Canada travel warnings to that destination.

Notwithstanding international travel, the Canadian Government would appear to be very anxious for Canadians to take national staycations this year. Just this week they announced that $30 million, which was earmarked for attracting foreign visitors to Canada through the marketing organization Destination Canada, could now be used to work with provinces to motivate Canadians to discover their own backyard.

“Tourism is a source of pride for communities across the country. It is a significant economic driver and a source of local jobs. It’s also among the sectors hardest hit by this pandemic,” said Melanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and official languages.

“We’re working with the sector to mitigate the impact of COVID-19”, she said, “And we’re working with tourism businesses as our economy reopens so tourism can come back stronger than before.”

The world wants us to travel again — but are we ready to go?

pradinukr@shaw.ca