What are the rights of travelers in the time of coronavirus?
What to do for booked tourist packages
Contents
1) The tour operator canceled the holiday I had booked; now the travel agency/organizer offers me a voucher. Do I have to accept it or can I ask for a refund of the price?
Pursuant to art. 28, paragraph 5 of legislative decree no. 9 of 2 March 2020, the organizer can offer an alternative package, return the price or issue a voucher. The wording of the article does not seem to leave the choice of reimbursement method to the consumer however, the issuing of the voucher it remains an alternative and not an obligatory choice.
2) The organizer will issue me a voucher for the canceled holiday – how long must it be valid?
The voucher must be used within 1 year from the date of issue but, in our opinion, this does not mean that the trip must be made within the same period.
3) The tourist package I had booked was cancelled, the tour operator issued me a voucher for the price of the holiday, but I have not yet paid the bill in full. Do I have to pay for everything before receiving the voucher?
Article 1463 of the civil code provides that in contracts with reciprocal services, if one of these fails due to a fact not attributable to the party who must perform it, the cause which justifies the counter-performance also ceases. The traveler, therefore, is not required to pay the balance and has the right to a refund of the sums already paid.
4) I booked a package tour with a tour operator based in another EU country, but due to the Italian travel ban, I was unable to leave. Am I still entitled to a refund/voucher?
We believe that in this case Italian citizens are entitled to a refund as the ban on travel/ban on entry into a country constitutes an exceptional circumstance not attributable to the traveler which makes it impossible to benefit from the service.
5) I booked a trip for mid-April – can I cancel for free?
It is possible to cancel free of charge only trips departing until April 3rd. For the cancellation without paying penalties of trips set at a later date, this possibility will be effective only if the bans currently in force on the national territory and in the destination countries are extended to include the respective departure or stay dates.
6) I booked a tourist package departing at the end of April and for which I only paid a deposit. Now the organizer is asking me to pay the balance – can I refuse to pay?
Since only trips up to April 3 can be canceled free of charge, the balance payment should be made, because you are contractually required to do so. Given the uncertainty of the situation and its continuous evolution, we recommend contacting the organizer in writing and verifying the possibility of being able to postpone the payment of the balance.
What to do for booked flights
1) I booked a flight departing before April 4th. Considering that I cannot travel, am I entitled to a ticket refund?
Yes: if you reside in a municipality or in an area from which, by express provision of the authority, it is not possible to leave (at this time, the entire national territory), you are entitled to a refund of the transport price or a voucher of the same amount.
2) I have booked a flight for the end of April, but in light of the emergency I don't feel like leaving. Will I receive a ticket refund?
If the outward or return flight is canceled and it is a single booking, you are entitled to a full refund of the ticket. If instead i flights will be carried out, the contractual conditions of the carrier will apply. This means that if you have purchased a refundable or flexible fare, you can request a refund or change of ticket, under the conditions of your fare. However, if the fare is not refundable/modifiable, in the event of cancellation you can only request a refund of the airport taxes, unless you are prohibited from traveling on the day of the flight.
What to do for booked hotels
1) I booked a hotel stay in the period up to 3 April and paid an advance/deposit. Can the hotel refuse to refund my money?
No, even in this case the rule applies according to which if it is no longer possible to fulfill the service, the hotel cannot request payment and must return the amount already paid in cash or by issuing a voucher valid for one year from the date of issue .
2) I booked a hotel for summer 2020. The hotel informed me that if I decided to cancel the reservation today, I would lose the deposit/have to pay a cancellation fee. Can I cancel for free?
It is not possible to predict what the situation will be this summer; to date the fulfillment of the service seems possible. From this it follows that, in the event of cancellation, the professional can retain the deposit paid or request the payment of penalties if provided for by the contractual conditions.
If on the date of our stay we are still prevented from traveling for tourist trips (whether in force in our country or in the destination country), the contract can be terminated and the amounts already paid returned.
"It is indisputable that the difficult situation we are experiencing, in addition to having a negative impact on the state of mind, is a harbinger of economic losses for consumers who often make many sacrifices to plan the long-awaited restorative holiday.and,” he says Monika Nardo, legal consultant of the European Consumer Center Italy and continues “However, we must not forget that even for the tourism industry the situation is no different and, probably, much worse”. “We therefore believe that a fair compromise could be the best solution to support the economy of our country and save the jobs of many of our fellow citizens, which is the aim of the introduction of the alternative of issuing the voucher, which has also been replicated by other states. of the EU such as the Netherlands and the Belgium”, concludes Maria Pisanò, director of the Centre.
Posted in TravelNews
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