Postphone your Holiday, Dont Cancel

If you have travel plans coming up in 2020 that are likely to be disrupted, consider postponing or rescheduling your trip instead of totally cancelling it.   This doesn't sound like that big of a difference, but for many small companies in travel, it's huge. Refunds mean they make no money – money that they often need to pay staff, or local ground crew. Too many refunds mean smaller companies have a much higher likelihood of going out of business.

If you can opt to reschedule your tour, or take a credit for the value of your hotel stay so you can use it later, do that instead. I realise this isn't always possible in every case but if it is, consider postponing instead of cancelling.

If you cancel, this will impact  LTP as we go into a commission recall with the supplier which means we will have to pass on fees to cover a part of the amount. If you rebook later, these fees are waived however please note fare and tax difference will still apply. Plus, there's even some evidence to suggest that the act of planning and looking forward to a trip can be just as good for your mental health as actually going on one. So if you don't have to completely cancel, you will at least  have something to look forward to.

We are living through a confusing and unprecedented time; the global economy has never faced anything like this – and neither has the travel industry.

I know this will not apply to everyone, and that those of us who still have jobs and incomes are very lucky, but I hope to spare a thought for your travel planner that worked hard on planning your trip before the current situation occurred and let’s support tourism together. 

Postponing a trip might also be a lot easier to do at present as airlines like Qantas are giving up to 18 Months to rebook your trip. Hotels give waivers if you rebook within 12 months instead of the 1 night cancellation fee or no refund. Tour operators have introduced flexible booking conditions to combat some of the fallout. Please discuss your options with your LTP team member about postponing your trip today.