The wave of canceled excursions by Bulgarian tourists for the end of March and April is growing. The Middle East, Asia, even parts of Africa are dream destinations that are increasingly falling out of the plans of Bulgarian tourists today.
A few days ago, Mari Kharitova returned from a vacation in the Seychelles, writes Nova TV. The trip starts as a dream, but on the way back it turns into an unexpected test.
„I was at the check-in counter and was already begging the ground staff to put me and my friend next to each other. The woman started shaking her head and sent us to a line with 50-60 other people. They told us that we would stay there for at least 2 more days”, says Mari Kharitova.
The reason - overbooking. This is a situation where airlines are selling more tickets than there are seats on the plane. At the height of the tension in the region, more and more passengers are changing their routes and looking for connections via Istanbul instead of the United Arab Emirates.
“Fortunately, the airline we were flying with provided us with everything very quickly. We had accommodation, a transfer to and from the hotel we were staying at, food, breakfast, lunch, dinner and financial compensation”, says Mari Kharitova.
Due to the uncertainty, travel agencies are already reporting dozens of canceled excursions.
“The leading motive is the fear of getting caught up in a military conflict. A purely human reaction, even in areas that are not currently involved in the military conflict. Despite this, people are afraid and refuse reservations. Another issue is that they are even willing to pay a fine, but not to travel to such places”, explains Antoaneta Petrova, manager of a travel agency.
Fear is not always a sufficient reason to cancel without consequences. If the destination is not declared risky by the authorities, the cancellation is treated as a standard cancellation and penalties come into effect. Among them are Egypt, Tunisia, North Africa, even Cyprus, which are not participants.
Here is what the fine print is in such situations: “If there is no official warning about the destination and the flights are operating, but you decide to cancel due to concern, this is treated as a standard cancellation. In this case, the penalties stipulated in your contract apply”.
“Trip cancellation” can come into effect when the traveler is unable to travel due to medical problems.
„This insurance does not cover military risk, cataclysms, or force majeure circumstances. And it is good to put this issue at the forefront of the insurance companies, to enrich their portfolio and start offering this type of insurance”, explains Antoaneta Petrova.
The uncertainty affects not only tourists. For many companies that send employees to the region, canceled trips mean serious financial losses.
„I was very uncomfortable because of the commitments I have here, not only me, but also the entire group that was there. You experience stress. "You immediately try to find even more expensive tickets, to pay extra for them so you can go home," says Mari Kharitova.
According to experts, if the conflict calms down, the market may repeat the post-Covid scenario - a sharp drop in prices and a gradual return of tourists.