Travel agencies in Portugal will reimburse customers who, before the coronavirus outbreak, purchased trips for February to Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China and intend to cancel them.
“Since the European package travel directive was transposed, which has happened a few years ago, in cases equivalent to the coronavirus – that is, if I had already made a reservation for China under normal circumstances and in the meantime this appeared outbreak – the consumer has the right to cancel, being refunded of all costs involved in the reservation “, said the president of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT) to Lusa.
According to Pedro Costa Ferreira, at this moment it is possible to reimburse the trips scheduled for the month of February, pending, however, the evolution of the outbreak to decide on later trips: “Then we have to wait and see if the abnormal circumstances that now it is verified whether they will maintain or not in the future “, he clarified.
Stressing that this refund guarantee in the event of abnormal circumstances “is a security that travel agencies have”, having for the purpose “insurance that protects them from these externalities”, the responsible notes that “the same consumer, buying directly in China or on an airline, you are not under this law “.
“Travel agencies have developed capacities to exercise this responsibility, certain that with this they are gaining in terms of competitiveness factors. Not only are we able to make reimbursements, but we are a travel sales zone in the value chain that is safer than the others “, he maintained.
Regarding the impact of the new coronavirus on the sector’s activity, the president of APAVT reiterated to Lusa that, in terms of the Portuguese issuing market, travel cancellations “are not yet significant”, either “because it is not a time for travel by Portuguese “, or because” China is not a mass destination “.
Likewise, Pedro Costa Ferreira says there are “many cancellations [de viagens para Portugal] groups of Chinese tourists, even due to the restrictions imposed by China “, but considered that” this is also not a problem for the country in terms of its annual global numbers “.
“From that point of view, cancellations are not materially relevant at this time. Now, for the agencies that booked them, they are certainly adverse circumstances,” he admitted.
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