Jayson Westbury answers your travel questions

Australians with foreign holidays booked in six months’ time shouldn’t be rushing to cancel, but overseas travel is off the cards for at least the next two school holiday periods, says Jason Westbury.

Jayson Westbury has the answers to your questions.

Many Australians had holidays booked and paid for before COVID-19 changed our world so dramatically.

They face uncertainty over refunds and whether to postpone or cancel trips altogether, while on a far bigger scale, the tourism industry is working out how to survive.

Jayson Westbury, CEO of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents took readers’ questions today and delivered a firm message: Keep your travel dreams alive.

Q. We had booked through Flight Centre for our honeymoon in July to Hawaii, flights, accommodation etc. Should we just cancel? And how do we get a full refund?

A. July is a tricky time at this stage as nothing is known for sure as to if airlines will be flying and if the USA will have its borders open. That makes this question very difficult to answer. In your case, you will clearly want to have your honeymoon at some point as the memories are for ever. So talk to your agent and explore your options. More than likely you should be able to get a voucher or credit for future travel, and I can only imagine how good the deals will be once we get out of this coronavirus crisis.

Q. Before COVID-19, I booked and paid for flights to Europe for September using a reputable airline and travel agent. What rights do I have if the agent or airline collapse?

A. Let’s all hope that neither of those circumstances are the outcome for you or anyone in this crisis. The Federal Government has indicated clearly that business insolvency rules will change and at this stage in the crisis I am unable to give you any firm answer beyond that which is the current rights under Australian Consumer Law. This will be a critical point going forward but I hope that your agent and the airline will be their for you at the end of this crisis.

Q. We are booked to fly to California for a three-week holiday at the end of July. Would it be advisable to cancel the trip now or wait and see what happens?

A. Many people will have a similar question in mind, which really is, “When will we be able to travel overseas again?” To be upfront about that, don’t know and perhaps nobody does, but I would say that the Prime Minister has been clear that this is going to be a six-month process, so from the industry’s point of view we are planning for that, which is a long time. If I were you, I would investigate your options now as July, which is the next school holiday period, may still not be a time when we can travel overseas, but I hope we can travel in Australia and have a holiday at home — at least that is what I am telling my kids and I hope that I can make that dream true for them also.

Q. If you have prepaid overseas hotels, tours etc. and the tour cannot proceed as scheduled is there any way that those foreign companies can be compelled to provide a refund and by what means?

A. You make a very good point with this question about what anyone can do to compel a foreign company to act. There are many rules and regulations across the globe that fundamentally apply in these circumstances, but as we know, all governments around the world are make different decisions and changing or relaxing what we know to be law to help save companies and provide for a pathway out of this virus. From where I sit, for the most part all travel companies both foreign and domestic are doing the absolute best they can under the circumstances of a crisis of this magnitude. The question of refunds has become the real crisis we face in the travel industry for travel agents, suppliers and most importantly for travellers like you. There is no easy answer right now to your question, but I believe that if governments provide support to travel companies all over the world and travel companies are in a strong position to recover fast, then refunds will be an issue to be addressed when we come out of this virus crisis.

Q. I have a trip booked in September to Vietnam and Bali. Should I can cancel?

A. This is a crystal ball answer and I don’t have one. My suggestion to you and others in this situation is to wait as long as you are able to make that decision. September is at the end of the Prime Minister’s six months that he mentions all the time, so subject to how well the world goes in getting this virus under control, travel in September may be possible, but no one can at this point give a 100 per cent confirmed view on that. If I were you I would wait until at least till the middle of May to make that decision as things about the future might be clearer. I hope that you will be able to take that trip.

Q. We booked a European river cruise in July with a deposit of $4500. Are we entitled to full refund? If not are we required to pay a $500 deferment fee to change dates to 2021?

A. I see your point, but will try and respond in a way that I hope in part addresses what you might be thinking. Cruise companies and travel agents are facing a crisis of a scale never before experienced. Even with all of the dreadful things that have happened over decades past, wars, 911, tsunami’s, bombing, the travel industry has been able to forge through these things and work with customers. This crisis has meant the total shut down of travel globally, full stop by government orders. All of the businesses within the travel ecosystem employ people, have operational costs, fixed and otherwise and as such they are doing their level best to be reasonable, but with a mind to survive a situation of No Travel and No Income, so fees and charges when applied are done so in as modest a way as they can. The main and important point in the end is that the company will be in a position to offer you the cruise at another time in the future when it is allowed. Different suppliers have different business rules and I am sure they apply them as in as reasonable a way as they can. I hope that you will be able to enjoy your cruise in 2021.

Q. Will some destinations just be off limits for longer than others and do you think the cruise industry will ever recover?

A. The cruise industry will be there at the other end and without question open and ready for business just as soon as we can all travel and want to travel. One thing we must not let this virus do, is dampen our spirit of adventure and desire to travel when we come out of this. Keep dreaming of your next holiday — it is a great way to kill time while we wait for this virus to pass.

Q. My wife and I have a two-person self-contained cabin booked over Easter. We will be going nowhere else and will supply all our own food. The cabin is two hours from our home and we can drive directly there and back. Are we allowed to drive and stay at this location? The owner of the cabin has not been able to get a clear answer from Tourism Queensland.

A. Sadly, my answer to this for Easter is NO. The Queensland Premier has been very clear that the government wants everyone to stay home or in their own communities and so while it breaks my heart to say this to you, I would not be going.

Q. Are the days of cheap travel over? Will airlines, hotels etc need to raise their prices in order to recoup what they have lost since COVID-19 caused extensive shutdowns? Or could we expect bargains in order to get tourists back?

A. The days of cheap travel are all ahead of us, that is for sure. As the COVID-19 crisis gets resolved and the world returns to the sky, land and sea, travel agents and travel suppliers are going to have just as many wonderful trips and experiences to offer that were there before this virus took hold of the world. If there is one good thing about this virus, it has not impacted the wonderful beauty and incredible destinations that the world has to offer. We can be assured that they will all be there on the other side of this crisis, and the travel industry globally will be ready to get everyone back travelling just as soon as we all can. No, the days of cheap travel are not over — they are ahead of us.

You can see more answers in the comments below. Switch the viewing options for comments to ‘most replied first’ to easily see answers