Travel agencies should not demand a fee of more than 5 percent from people who cancel a trip to a country with a travel advisory that is level 2 or greater, the Tourism Bureau said yesterday.
Because of COVID-19, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) has issued a level 3 “warning” travel notice for China, Hong Kong and Macau. The center yesterday issued a level 2 “alert” travel notice for Japan, South Korea and Singapore, while it issued a level 1 “watch” travel notice for Thailand on Thursday.
Under the government’s three-tier travel advisory system, a level 1 notice urges travelers to take normal precautions and respect disease-prevention measures put in place at their destination. Level 2 urges travelers to heighten their vigilance and level 3 cautions them against nonessential travel.
Photo: EPA-EFE
When people cancel tours to destinations with a level 1 notice, travel agencies can charge them a cancelation fee of 5 to 10 percent, depending on the cancelation deadline, the bureau said.
Travel agencies, after deducting necessary costs, cannot charge a cancelation fee of more than 5 percent for destinations with a level 2 notice, and should charge no cancelation fee for destinations with a level 3 notice, it said.
All domestic travel has been affected by the outbreak, the local travel industry has said.
Domestic travel companies are expecting NT$3.2 billion (US$105.25 million) in lost revenue because of a nearly 50 percent decline in tourists over the past month, Domestic Travel Development Association chairman Lai Chun-chieh (賴俊傑) said yesterday.
This is normally the peak season for domestic travel, but travel agencies have had difficulty organizing any tour groups, meaning that companies would lack operational funds, he said.
However, people still visit many scenic areas — perhaps indicating that people are fond of the outdoors, but are avoiding participating in group activities due to the virus, he added.
The association has set up standard health precautions for tour groups, such as asking tour members to submit a health declaration, taking people’s temperature before they get on a bus, requiring people to wear a mask while on the bus, and disinfecting buses before groups get on and after they get off, he said.
As a promotion, the association yesterday launched a Taipei-to-Taichung tour — cutting the price from NT$2,000 to NT$200 per person — with the hope of increasing domestic tourism, he said.
The association plans to introduce more tours to encourage people to travel safely, Lai said, while expressing the hope that the government would distribute coupons to boost domestic travel.
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