COVID-19: statement from The Travel Company Edinburgh

Citizens of the world, global businesses and Government are watching, monitoring and adapting plans as the Coronavirus crisis continues to unfold. In travel, we’ve been through many a destination crisis, from Caribbean storms, Icelandic volcanos and the previous SARS outbreak, amongst others. However, the rapid spread of Coronavirus has taken the world by surprise.

At The Travel Company Edinburgh, we understand and appreciate the concerns of our customers, who are unsure if they should travel, as well as our trade partners who are facing heightened corporate pressures as well as concern for their customers and loved ones.

As the situation unfolds, there are lots of questions on cancellation fees, how insurers are approaching force majeure and the Foreign Office’s advice to travel. A lot of the answers are as yet unknown, but we will communicate new information when we have it.

We don’t intend to make any impulsive reactions here and will be following destination tourism advice as well as our own Government’s action plans to protect our customers and partners. Trade associations and bodies continue to aggregate and share news and issue guidance, which will inform our position too.
We are hopeful that like SARS, which spread rapidly and then all but disappeared, the Coronavirus outbreak will be temporary, and we can return to creating incredible, stress-free holidays. In the meantime, we suggest that for those of us who are well, it’s business as usual for ourselves and our clients.

The world should keep on travelling where it’s safe to do so. And the over-riding view of the industry is that most of the world is safe. We advise to take common sense steps to protect from illness, at home and on your travels. Good hand hygiene, self-isolation if unwell and reporting any travel to infected areas. If you are booked to travel to an infected area, rather than cancel your trip we recommend that you postpone it or switch destination.

At The Travel Company Edinburgh, we reassure that we stand by our customers, partners and employees over the next few unknown months. Together, we’ll find our way through this crisis, whilst standing together and preserving the beautiful experience of world travel and the industries that support it.
If you have any questions on imminent travel to an affected region, get in touch with us on our dedicated hotline on 0131 467 7000.