The travel agencies that organize trips, of which there are more than 400 in Serbia, travel guarantees expire today, so although for now, as announced by Tourism Minister Rasim Ljajic, their licenses will not be revoked, citizens who sign a contract with the agency, they travel at their own risk. !!
Numerous agencies in Serbia have found themselves in big trouble because their travel guarantees expire today, which automatically means the loss of a work permit. To renew a license, they must have a guarantee that can be obtained as an insurance policy or as a bank guarantee. However, the insurance companies, as they told the agencies, no longer want to give it to you because they are too risky this year.
photo: Print screen
However, Rasim Ljajic, the tourism minister, tells Kurir that the licenses will not be revoked next week.
– We will not revoke the licenses, because we hope that in the next week we will find a solution with insurers or banks in ten days. I do not expect any new arrangements to be made in that period. The summer season is over and passengers aren’t interested in that either, says Ljajić.
He adds that the representatives of that ministry met yesterday with the Association of Serbian Banks (UBS).
– Representatives of UBS will present a proposal of the procedure for the possible activation of bank guarantees later this week. This guarantee model has never been used in practice, although it is provided for in the Tourism Law, Ljajic said, adding that the ministry will also mediate between insurance companies and travel agencies:
– It is unusual for insurance companies to inform agencies three days before valid licenses expire that they will not provide this type of service, justifying it with a high degree of risk.
The fact that the agencies were left without guarantees, but without licenses, practically means that the agencies will theoretically be able to organize trips even after October 1, but the traveler cannot be sure that, if he is not satisfied, they will return the money. .
Aleksandar Senicic, director of the National Association of Travel Agencies of Serbia (JUTA), told Kurir that negotiations with insurers are still ongoing and that they hope to convince them to extend the term of insurance policies for agencies for another three months. , until the new year.
– More than 400 agencies have lost their guarantees, that is, several thousand employees. If a solution is not found in the next five or six days, there will be a serious outcry from tour workers, Senicic says, stressing that all passengers who paid for the arrangements before October 1 are covered by the travel guarantee.
Brussels Ramp Serbia is still banned from entering the European Union
The EU member states have not changed the list of third countries that are not subject to restrictions to join the EU, so the travel restrictions for Serbian citizens will continue to apply in the first half of October, Tanjug learned in Brussels. The list of 11 countries has not changed since August, and in Brussels they note that this is due to the unstable epidemiological situation in the Western Balkans, the EU and the world. On the other hand, from September 28, Serbs will be able to enter Ukraine, as announced, provided they have an insurance policy.
Insurance Association Excessive Risk
The Serbian Insurers Association tells Kurir that the issuance of travel guarantees “is not attractive or profitable for insurers, which can be seen from the fact that only a few insurance companies were engaged in this business”: – There is no joint decision or agreement by the insurers to leave this business. It is already about individual decisions of specific companies. The reasons are very simple and are that it is an excessive risk for which it is not possible, at this time, to provide reinsurance. We also note that the insurance premium for currently valid policies has not been paid to insurance companies by travel agencies for the most part.
Milos Jovovic, Travelland agency director: Thank you to the ministry and inspections, and especially to the passengers for your understanding.
Although insurance companies and banks have refused to issue insurance policies and bank guarantees for most travel agencies this year due to high risk, this is not the case for Travelland. The director of this agency, Miloš Jovović, tells Kurir that his bank wants to issue him a bank guarantee. Jovović adds that communication with the competent ministry and the Tourist Inspectorate is constant, in order to find the best solution for passengers and agencies.
Milos jovovic photo: Private archive
– My parent bank wants to issue me a bank guarantee without any problem, and I also offered to make a deposit, because my agency is liquid, we have many years of experience and many passengers who trust us. They sent me to the Tourism Inspectorate to give us instructions on how to do all this in accordance with the law. The inspection was caught and there are no instructions at the moment, but I hope that the authorities will soon have recommendations on how to exercise my legal right and find a solution for my passengers. I want to save the agency and my passengers and continue to function in the most normal way when we already have the possibilities for that – says Jovović.
