20/10/2020
2020!! Where did our Wanderlust go?
Hello to all you holiday makers out there………………
I just wanted to take a few moments to explain what life has been like for our travel agency over the last few months, and why we’ve taken the decision to put things on ‘pause’
On the 17th March 2020 the Foreign Commonwealth Office advised against all non-essential travel for a 30 day period….. those days turned into weeks which turned into months. Then, in June, there was the glimmer of hope that customers would be able to start travelling again with the introduction of the travel corridors. However, only a few weeks in and this soon turned into yet another administrative nightmare of cancellations and refunds, as countries were removed from the list, in some cases with only hours of notice.
Seven months on, and the situation continues to be very challenging, with the lack of any clear information on how the government decides which countries to add or remove, along with the varying entry requirements for the different countries, leaving customers and agents confused alike. Over these months we have found ourselves effectively working for free with no new sales coming in and handing back all commissions earnt, yet still being liable for the original costs incurred with the bookings. This has not been an easy task, but getting the right outcome for each and every customer has always been our main priority.
As we now move into Autumn, we’ve come to accept that travel is not going to return to ‘normal’ anytime soon. Whilst there may be many of you out there desperate to travel, we are still in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, and with the advice around travel continually changing, this leaves us all with so many questions and uncertainties around booking and travelling.
So, with all this in mind, I believe that the best way forward is to hibernate the business until the time when we are confident that any new bookings we make will go ahead as planned, giving both ourselves and our customers the peace of mind, that they will be getting the holiday they had hoped for.
Thank you to all our lovely customers who have been affected with their travel plans this year, your patience and understanding through the refund and rebooking process has been greatly appreciated.
Also a big thank you to Jenny Tribillon
https://www.facebook.com/Frogletart/
for the lovely bright window mural, we wanted to let everyone know that we are ready and waiting, when the time is right ✈️🌆 🌅 🛳
‼️ EDIT TO POST ‼️
This is not meant to read as a negative post, our forward sales for 2021 are already very strong, I just feel this is the right thing to do now, as it maybe a while before travel returns to normal, and want to make sure that we are there for you when it does 😊
