As news of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) becomes more readily available, the volume of information has become overwhelming for people to make decisions about travel plans. We've been answering a lot of questions from clients and readers as they plan their trips. Perception and tolerance of risk is different for each person, so the decision to travel is highly individual.
The uncertainty gives people concern of whether they should cancel their vacations. As we have seen with epidemics in the past such as
H1N1 pandemic in 2009, they eventually go away.
If deciding to cancel a trip, consider available options to postponing final payment, requesting payment to be applied toward a future trip or rescheduling the trip to a future date on a different itinerary. There are always other destinations around the world where the risk is small.
It has been fascinating to see different reactions from different people. We have travelers wishing to cancel their trips such as those to Southeast Asia and Japan while others move forward in their upcoming journeys to Alaska in June and the Mediterranean in August. We've received trip requests for Israel and Jordan in September and Egypt and Botswana in October. They figure things will be under control by then and take advantage of small nonrefundable deposits. This way, when they do have to make large nonrefundable payments they already have their travel plans in place. They also would not have to compete with other travelers for best pricing and availability when demand for travel is likely to rise once the scare subsides.
We understand this is a difficult time for you. We are always available to answer your questions and talk through your concerns.
