NEW YORK, April 30 — In a strong sign of confidence that group travel may start to pick up again this fall, the results of a new survey among tour operators around the world show that 70 percent are rescheduling trips in October through the winter.
In a survey of 592 tour operators conducted by industry payment and booking platform WeTravel, a third of respondents said they have rescheduled their tours between June and September. Another 40 per cent said they’ve postponed their tours for the last quarter of the year, between October to December.
The remaining percentage of respondents said they’ve delayed tours to 2021. The survey was conducted in early April, and 42 per cent of the tour operators surveyed are based in the US.
“Covid-19 has given tour operators challenges that the industry has never experienced before, as shown by these survey results,” said WeTravel cofounder Zaky Prabowo in a press release.
“We need governmental bodies to make policies and provide financial assistance. We are asking for support from travellers by accepting travel vouchers or rescheduling their trips instead of asking for refunds. We are asking for cooperation from our vendors to renegotiate our payments. Only if we do this together, the industry can survive.”
Meanwhile, the UK’s biggest tour operator Tui has extended the cancellation of its holidays up to and including June 11. — AFP-Relaxnews
