Cheyenne Gerritsen (23) was to fly to Milan with a friend on 1 April, but now wants to rebook her trip due to the corona virus. “We both really don’t want to go anymore. We don’t want to look up the danger unnecessarily and we don’t know how it will develop.”
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This morning she had contact with the TUI travel organization, where she had booked the city trip. “We don’t want to go anyway. We are going to try to rebook the trip, whether we have to pay extra for that or not.”
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Travel advice adjusted
If you are traveling to Italy, you should check if there are special measures at your place of destination in connection with the new corona virus, says the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its website.
In the north of Italy, in the province of Lombardy, an entry and exit ban currently applies to a number of municipalities. “Do not travel to these municipalities”, the ministry reports in its adapted travel advice. “In the province of Padova do not travel to the municipality of Vo’Euganeo. The access roads are controlled. In certain areas, major public events have been canceled and public institutions (such as museums but also schools and universities) temporarily closed.”
Foreign Affairs advises travelers who have been in the area and who have fever or respiratory complaints to see a doctor.
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Cheyenne was really looking forward to the holiday to Milan and thinks it is a pity that it is canceled. “It’s the only trip I was going to make this year. It would be a real girls’ trip because we have been friends for ten years.”
To care
There are also people who have recently traveled through the affected area and are now worried. The same goes for 49-year-old Freek, who returned on Thursday from a business trip in Milan, Turin, Venice and Verona with his wife. “We have no complaints, but we are worried. I am not scared, but we have been in the middle of the fire.”
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He has been in contact with his doctor and the GGD, but because he has no complaints yet, he does not need to be tested. “I only have to call back when I have a fever. But I am worried because the incubation period is two to four weeks.”
“Handful of phone calls”
A TUI spokesperson confirms that the travel organization has received ‘a handful’ of phone calls from concerned travelers. “It is low season at the moment. There are a lot of people on winter sports from us now, but they are staying in places far away from the affected province.”
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The organization has received a few phone calls from people who are planning a trip to northern Italy. “But during this period of the year there are not very many. The largest group leaves only from April or goes in the summer.”
The free cancellation of journeys is not yet under discussion, says the spokesperson. “We are following it carefully. If there are still problems by then, we will offer the option to cancel for free.”
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A Sunweb spokesperson said that he had ‘not received ten calls’ last weekend. “From Sunweb we do not offer trips or cruises to the affected area, so we are less in the corner where the blows fall.” D-Reizen says it has not received any calls at all.
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Travel insurance
Of course you can always cancel your holiday. But will the costs also be reimbursed? That varies per situation:
You have booked through a travel organization: If the trip from the tour operator is canceled because he cannot carry out the trip as promised, you will be reimbursed the costs of the travel sum. If you are already traveling and the travel advice is changing, for example, the tour operator must offer help and assistance. What is included in such a package tour (flight and accommodation) is arranged by the tour operator.
You have arranged your trip yourself: For example, if you go backpacking in China and have booked individual tickets and hotels yourself, the costs for canceling are for yourself and / or for your travel insurance. This also applies to the costs that you incur if you have to stay longer due to a flight delay.
Incidentally, the premium does not rise spontaneously due to the corona virus outbreak. The prices are adjusted at fixed times of the year, says a spokesperson for the ANWB. Insurer Allianz Global Assistance says that there can never even be an increase due to the corona virus. “It’s not covered, so we can’t raise the price either.”
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