PRAGUE Although coronavirus has made international tourism a thick budget, travel agencies have been forced to cancel most of this year’s tours due to government restrictions, but preparations for the “first minute” of summer 2021 are just culminating. Travelers that are hard to keep alive are guaranteed to clients free cancellation and refunds. And vouchers also strengthen the interest of tourists.
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“We are already registering a number of inquiries from our clients about when we will offer an offer of tours for the summer of 2021,” Jan Bezděk, a spokesman for CK Fisher, told Lidovky.cz.
Although the conditions of entry and return due to the current state of coronavirus infection in individual countries change unpredictably and no one knows what the situation will look like in the coming days or weeks – let alone next year – they do not hesitate to offer first minute tours to the domestic office. The coronavirus only delayed her by a few weeks.
“At the moment, we are fine-tuning the conditions so that we can start selling tours for next summer,” Bezděk confirmed. According to him, the choice of holidays should not suffer due to the pandemic, which was confirmed by other travel agencies.
Wider offer and free cancellation
“We are ready for the 2021 season. We have further expanded the offer of tours for next summer, we have increased not only the number of hotels, but also the capacity of tours by more than ten percent, “said Eva Němečková, spokeswoman for CK Čedok.
At the beginning of October, the Alexandria Travel Agency will also present the offer of first minute tours for next summer. However, according to TA representatives, holiday prices should remain comparable to previous years.
However, the warning of additional expenses in the form of a mandatory covidtest or complications associated with the reddening of an imaginary traffic light still disrupts the rosy prospects of every tourist. Therefore, declining travel agencies are changing the former contractual conditions in an effort to attract clients.
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“The conditions we will offer clients in this situation are key. In response to the current situation, we will significantly adjust the contractual conditions and rules for cancellation of tours. We want to give people the certainty that even if they buy a holiday in advance, they do not risk losing their money, “Bezděk described.
“As well as for winter trips, we want to offer clients the possibility of free cancellation up to two days in advance and with a money back guarantee within 14 days,” Petr Kostka, spokesman for CK Exim Tours, who together with CK Fisher newly belongs to the German group DER Touristik, which is a tourism division of the German group REWE.
Vouchers for hundreds of millions
The new terms and conditions thus replace the so-called “lex voucher”, which expired at the beginning of September and clients are already entitled to a cash refund. According to Bezděk, CK Fischer has issued vouchers worth more than half a billion crowns since the law was introduced. About a fifth of them were clients of vulnerable consumers who received cash backs. According to Kostka, CK Exim Tours issued approximately 30,000 vouchers to clients.
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“Of this number, approximately 7,000 were clients from the group of protected persons. We returned the money to them, “he said. Czech clients will be entitled to a cash refund if they do not use the voucher by 31 August next year to pay for another trip. It is the vouchers that help to stimulate the demand of Czech tourists for first minute tours.
According to the Association of Travel Agencies of the Czech Republic, domestic travel agencies paid advances for clients’ trips abroad for 2.96 billion crowns for this season until the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. Hundreds of millions more were paid in advance to carriers. Due to the closed borders, the sale of new tours was practically stopped for them. They therefore face huge losses.
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