Given the situation of uncertainty and restlessness that is currently existing in the sector due to the news received about the coronavirus-COVID19, we wish to inform you of the measures taken by Europamundo.
We consider that, first of all, we must remember that the number of victims caused by the coronavirus is much lower than that of “normalized” diseases such as influenza (or other endemic in areas visited by tourism), the mortality of the disease is of only 0.7% and mostly affects people with previous physiological disorder (lung problems for example …).
Europamundo always considers the safety of its travelers and equipment a priority factor , for this reason, despite what has been previously indicated at this time, the measures taken are the following:
1. CHINA : All departures for the months of February, March and April with destination CHINA have been canceled. The number of new cases registered is decreasing every day significantly . The outputs CHINA since May are open for sale. However, in mid-March we will assess the evolution of the situation as well as the recommendations made by the WHO and tourism authorities in China.
2. KOREA : All departures with KOREA destination are open in our system. So far, no date has been canceled. We have made, in the next departures of March, a change in the route that affects two days of our itinerary. This change seeks to minimize the risk: suppression of the city of Daegu (where the incidence of the disease is higher) and replace the visit of two specific points (Samsung museum and Haensa Buddhist temple) that have been closed to tourism.
3. JAPAN : The Japanese government has acted with the utmost diligence isolating cases that have been recorded of coronavirus. We do not perceive real risks for our travelers. All of our programming is maintained and is operating with TOTAL NORMALITY . We should point out that the SATISFACTION INDEX at this time is even higher than usual (very high in this destination) because the visit of the tourist points is being carried out with less massification (because at this time tourists from China, the country that sends more tourists to Japan, are not traveling).
4. EUROPE : We believe that there are currently no reasons to advise against traveling to Europe. Only in the northern part of Italy have we taken some measures.
5.- ITALY : Some small towns in northern Italy have had a higher number of cases and their population has been quarantined (it is not allowed to enter or leave the populations except for exceptional circumstances): these are 10 small cities that do not They are published in any itinerary.
In the cities visited in northern Italy (Milan, Venice, and Verona) the number of cases of coronavirus registered so far is very limited.
In any case, we understand the concern of travelers (especially those with respiratory diseases) and we are developing an action protocol with our guides: In the cities mentioned we are acting consciously to minimize the possible concern of passengers; in Venice, for example, although we consider that it should not be necessary however for the tranquility of travelers we have foreseen (and hired from this moment) all transfers to the center of Venice are made in private boats for our groups (avoiding taking the “Vaporettos”, where everyone travels and which at several moments might be very full). We are analyzing other additional measures that can convey tranquility to your travelers.
At this moment THE TOTALITY OF THE TOUR PROGRAMS IN ALL EUROPE (including Italy) is operating with NORMALITY.
We continue to analyze the evolution of the situation day by day in case additional measures should be taken in our action protocol.
FUTURE PROGRAMMING
It is possible that some of the departures of some routes (visiting Italy above all) are canceled from April to June. However, all destinations will continue to operate (in the current circumstances) and, in the case of cancellation of some departure dates, similar travelers will be offered to all travelers who may be registered at this time (as you know our offer in Europe is immense, the number of departures and similar routes very high … the possibilities of offering similar alternatives without variation of dates can be offered in almost all cases).
CONTINUED FOLLOW-UP OF THE CRISIS
It is not necessary to point out our concern about the situation that is being experienced.
In this concern, our priorities are:
- The safety of people and therefore, we consider adopting measures that necessary to minimize risks.
- Daily monitoring of the situation and creation of workgroups in the company to be able to act with the greatest agility possible taking the measures that we consider we should undertake in case of need.
TRAVELERS WHO WISH TO CHANGE OR VOID THEIR DESTINATION
In the case of travelers who convey their concern, indicate:
CHANGES
We are authorizing the change of destination or departure date without any penalty. We seek to give the greatest ease so that travelers who may be afraid can change their destination.
CANCELLATIONS
In the case of travelers who do not wish to change the destination and cancel the tour: more than one month before the departure date: no expenses will be billed except those that we must assume for our part (eg routes with airline tickets already issued or special cancellation conditions – trips with cruises for example-).
In the case of travelers whose departures are immediate (less than a month) we will apply only the expenses incurred (issuance of air tickets, train tickets or cruises), leaving the management and cancellation expenses to be deducted from any travel reservation that carry out with Europamundo (without name changes) for a period of one year from the date of cancellation.
For more specific inquiries related to this topic, we make available to our travelers the Customer Service department. You can direct your inquiry to this department by sending an email to customerservice@europamundo.com with your details and those of your trip.
