Tour Operators Are Preparing To Cancel Last Vacation Address – Stop Traveling Abroad

Trips abroad will no longer take place during September

Inga Aukštuolytė, Marketing Director of Tez Tour Delphi states that currently more than 25 cases per 100,000 cases are registered in Italy. population, so when the recommendations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are hardened, trips to Italy will be canceled.

“Traveler safety is our top priority, so we recommend that tourists planning to travel to Italy in September postpone their vacation or change their address,” adds a spokeswoman for Tez Tour.

I. Aukštuolytė says that almost all the travelers from the Italian region of Calabria were transferred home last Sunday according to a pre-established schedule. According to her, only a few people are currently resting in Calabria, they will return next Sunday, as planned.

“When evaluating the increasing morbidity rates in Italy, we see that there will be no travelers who wish to travel to this country. Vacationers delay their vacation plans and postpone their trips to a later date,” says Tez Tour.

According to her, according to the latest list of affected countries and morbidity indicators provided by the Ministry of Health (SAM), as well as according to the MFA recommendations for travelers, the tour operator has canceled 12 destinations in Lithuania and will not travel abroad in September.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and following the recommendations of the responsible authorities. If morbidity rates decrease and the trip is safe, we are ready to resume the trip to the tourist centers of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. ”, Says I. Aukštuolytė.

Novaturas made only one of the planned flights to Italy

The same decision is announced by the organizer “Novaturas” – on Wednesday will stop the last direction of the summer – flights to Italy. The tour operator canceled a total of 12 vacation destinations due to applicable restrictions.

“Normally, in August-September, travelers can choose resorts in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Portugal or Tunisia for their vacations. Today, the incidence rate in Italy exceeded 25 cases per 100,000 population. , the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will change the recommendations for this country, and we will have to stop flights to the only remaining address this summer.

The Greek islands were closed to Lithuanian travelers a little earlier. Unlike other Baltic countries, we cannot operate flights to Tunisia. According to general estimates, this summer season we were forced to cancel 12 holiday destinations due to applicable restrictions, ”says Dovilė Zapkutė, the company’s communications manager.

In total, in September-October, Novaturas planned 14 flights to Italian resorts, of which only one flight to Calabria could be operated.

In response to the increasing morbidity rate in Italy and the corresponding recommendations of the competent authorities for that country, Novaturas offers its travelers in September. travel to Italy (Calabria and Sicily) to change or move to 2021, choose travel voucher alternative.

Restrictions on travelers are driving the entire sector into a catastrophic situation

According to the Novaturas representative, such restrictions for travelers close Lithuanian borders and put the entire outbound tourism sector in a catastrophic situation.

We have repeatedly spoken publicly about other possible solutions: the separation of autonomous safe tourist regions guaranteeing and implementing all other security measures, the review of the morbidity rates evaluated according to the practice of other countries and the replacement of self-isolation. for testing. All these and other measures are being applied successfully in other EU countries, “says D. Zapkutė.

The interlocutor points out that the travel restrictions in Lithuania are extremely strict, other EU countries are finding ways not to close the houses of their citizens and give them the opportunity to vacation.

“For example, the British and the Germans returning from the island of Crete are not required to have 14 days of self-isolation. The Germans themselves can plan their holidays in resorts in Turkey, Italy and Portugal. Our neighbors, the Poles, too they offer trips to Turkey, which is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe, to tourists from Denmark, France, Great Britain, Sweden and other European countries. And today we have practically no travel offer due to the decisions of our Government ” , emphasizes.

The representative of Tez Tour also adds that the tour operator has presented a proposal to the authorities for the evaluation of the morbidity indicators of the regions of the individual countries. If morbidity was not assessed on the scale of the whole country, but based on its individual regions, the Lithuanian Tez Tour could offer trips to the Portuguese island of Madeira, Italian Sardinia or Sicily and Spanish Malaga.

What if you canceled your trip?

After canceling the trip, according to I. Aukštuolytė, the people who have bought the trip usually choose another travel date and agree to postpone the vacation for a later time. Many travelers postpone their vacation plans to next year. However, there are also travelers who request a refund.

Due to the restrictions of the pandemic in the absence of a trip, Novaturas offers three alternatives: travelers can choose a travel voucher, postpone the trip or get a refund. Very often, according to D. Zapkutė, people choose to postpone the trip to a later date.

Second in terms of popularity: travel coupons. “Travelers know they can pay a travel voucher at any time of the year, choose from all possible vacation destinations, or get a refund if they do not use the voucher during the year.” Travel vouchers are completely safe as they are covered by tour operator insurance and bank guarantees ”, points out the interlocutor.

The third option is a refund. “We started to be the first to return the money to travelers in July. 1 million was received from the state. A loan in euros will allow us to satisfy the interests of some clients, but we are still looking for ways to reach an agreement with our travelers as soon as possible possible.

The role of the State is very important to comply with these obligations without setbacks, so we expect more support from the State and faster decisions from the responsible institutions to ensure the survival of the tourism sector, ”emphasizes the representative of the tour operator.

Lithuania is one of the strictest countries in the European Union that regulates both the arrival of foreigners and Lithuanian citizens who wish to travel to other foreign countries. If the morbidity rate exceeds 16 cases, 100 thousand. population: 14 mandatory days of self-isolation, and after the incidence rate exceeds 25 cases per 100,000. population – must not have before 72 hours. a coronavirus test performed in the period prior to arrival in Lithuania and a negative response received, or a coronavirus infection test within 24 hours after arrival in Lithuania.

According to the ministry on Friday, currently in the European Union less than 16 cases per 100,000. The morbidity rate of the population is found in four countries in addition to Lithuania: Estonia, Finland, Hungary and Latvia.

According to data on Friday, the morbidity rate in Lithuania is 15.5.