AFTA coronavirus advice

AUSTRALIAN Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has issued an advisory to its members providing general advice on dealing with the challenges presented by coronavirus and reminded agents the AFTA team “is at your service and on alert to assist”.

Members are recommended to monitor the latest travel advice from DFAT HERE, which currently sits at “reconsider your need to travel to China”.

“This means that people may still travel to China and that the decision to go or not to go sits with the individual themselves,” Chief Exec Jayson Westbury said.

The notice says if insurance is to be relied upon for any cancellation fees to be covered, the terms and conditions must be confirmed with the issuing company before taking any action on the clients behalf.

It also reminds agents that suppliers are not required by law to waive cancellation fees, this is completely at their discretion. “As is the case usually in times of challenges, most suppliers are open to credit transfers, date changes and alterations without fees - but we stress this needs to be checked before making changes,” AFTA said.

“Some suppliers may also be willing to refund.”

Cancellation arrangements must also be well explained to the client before taking action, with AFTA recommending agents advise clients via email and request a written reply, unless they have a voice recorder on their phone system.

The latest updates from the Department of Health are also available HERE.

“AFTA is highly engaged with the various Federal Government agencies as they seek to do what they feel is in the best interests of Australians and the country,” Westbury said.

“It is a difficult situation – nobody wants to see this spread, clearly nobody wants any more deaths and we definitely want to minimise any risk to Australian Travellers,” he added.