WITH a travel ban in force, holidaymakers having to give up on their holiday plans because of the coronavirus lockdown are being urged not to lose their deposit without speaking to their travel agent.
With the lockdown meaning all travel plans are on hold, some people are just writing off their deposits, and taking the view that they will only think about a holiday once the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.
But an independent travel agency, with 14 expert advisers, and 61 years travel experience between its co-owners, said people don’t have to give up their deposits without contacting their travel agent first.
Claire Milby, who along with Lisa Barnes, co-owns Travel The Globe, advised people to pick up the phone and give their travel agent a call.
Claire said: “Travel the Globe is here to support the community throughout the coronavirus lockdown.
“We are determined that it won’t impact on our ability to serve customers and we are fully focused on maintaining a full service and giving everyone the best advice.
“We are operating as normal – it’s just that like everyone else we are working remotely at this time to ensure the safety of our customers and our staff.
“We are still only a phone call away. We are asking anyone who wants to contact us to give us a call.
“It’s really important that people contact us and find out exactly what their options are as it can vary between travel operators.
“Everyone is different, and everyone has different requirements and the advice will depend on each individual’s circumstances.”
Many of Travel The Globe’s customers have been pleased to be able to transfer their 2020 holidays to next year.
Claire said: “Because of the excellent relationship Travel The Globe has with Jet2 Holidays we are able to amend bookings from May onwards to 2021.
“That means people can transfer their deposit and move their balance over to next year, which gives people a bit of breathing space and longer to pay for their holiday.
“It means some people have not lost their deposit, and they still have a holiday to look forward to when all this is over.
“It’s obviously a worrying time for everyone and some people won’t even want to think about holidays at the moment.
“Other people want to have a holiday to look forward to, and to use this time to plan ahead.
“They want to secure a holiday now at the right price and have the pick of what’s available.
“We would expect prices to rise when this is all over because there will be a big increase in demand.
“Above all else we want to help people, and let them know that they do have options, and not just to be sitting at home thinking they have to lose their deposits.
“We would far rather people picked up the phone, gave us a call, and we will try to help them as best as we possibly can.”
Claire said tour operators are continuing to release holidays all the way up to 2022 and people have been booking holidays now so they can look forward to having a break.
Travel The Globe has two branches in Cumbria, one in Barrow and one in Ulverston, but is operating remotely throughout the lockdown.
Anyone wishing to contact Travel The Globe to find out more is invited to phone 01229 839502/584472, visit the company’s Facebook page or e-mail holidays@traveltheglobe.co.uk
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