16 March 2020

The global developments over the past four days are raising a lot of uncertainties and the need for a change in travel arrangements. We are deeply worried about our African friends and families who rely on the tourism industry. Therefore, we do ask you to postpone your trip, rather than cancelling. Most of our African partners are flexible in rebooking and keeping fees to a minimum. 

We are currently working on a decisive well thought-out action plan for the next months. In order for us to develop this and to manage not just travellers’ and partners’ anxiety in these unknown times but also our staff’s anxiety and focus, we are asking you the following:

• If you are travelling with us between now until the end of May 2020, we will be in touch with you personally;
• If you will be travelling with us in the month of June 2020 and later, we ask you to remain calm and wait for a week to see what the new updates will bring;

Complete Financial Protection

African Travels offers complete financial protection for all our travellers. When travelling with African Travels, your holiday is financially protected by the GGTO, the Dutch Guarantee Fund. We offer all our travelers from anywere around the world the guarantee that they will be reimbursed for any payments made for trips including airfares (if booked via African Travels), in the event that we declare financial insolvency. It is a comforting feeling indeed. 

Frequest askes questions

I want to postpone or cancel my existing booking. Will I be charged?

There are two options: 

Credit for Future Tours (free): You keep your money as a credit on file. In short, you can use the credit to book a future tour with the same tour operator. If this is available for you, we’ll contact you personaly. Note:this is only available for some tours. 

Full Cancellation (fees may apply): You can cancel your tour. Please note, full refunds are not available for all tours and fees may apply.

Can the tour operator make changes to my tour?

Re-routing: The tour operator may re-route the itinerary to make sure that travellers are safe and that the tour still runs smoothly. The tour operator will be in touch with any changes they may need to make.

or

Cancellation: The tour operator has the right to cancel your upcoming departure if they have any safety concerns. If they do cancel the tour for any reason, you can expect the tour operator to be in touch with your alternative options.

Should I avoid booking flights right now?

Many airlines are offering flexible booking options for future flights that allow you to change your reservation. Check with individual airlines for details. However, we do recommend to book with a national airline. They have more government support in case this is needed.

If I want to book a future tour now, do you offer any extra flexibility?

We offer additional flexibility on selected tours. If your plans have to change due to Corona, you can easily change the dates or tour. 

Save tourism

We are all in this together. We are very sorry for this situation having unravelled in this unexpected way. It is now that we need to stick together and help each other out – in friendships, families and also in business. Our team has confidence in the resilience of the industry to respond and make a full recovery. 

Africa, its wildlife and its people depend largely on tourism. Please do not cancel your trip but change the dates rather if necessary in order to save tourism.

We are thanking you in advance for your corporation and understanding. We do remain available for any emergencies you may need to discuss. So if you are concerned about your trip, please contact us!