Mountain Adventure Holidays
Dear Tracks and Trails Guests
The good news is that some European countries are beginning to lift restrictions, and in mid-June we expect the borders between certain EU countries to re-open. However, international travel, outwith Europe, remains severely restricted, and you may be wondering how this will affect any holidays already booked, or being planned.
COVID-19 TRIP SUSPENSION
Countries worldwide are now beginning to relax, or consider relaxing, some of the measures that were taken to restrict travel, and we hope to see more developments in the coming weeks. The situation, however, does continue to change almost daily, and despite the relaxation of restrictions we do not expect a return to 'normal' travel in the immediate future. Tracks and Trails is therefore postponing all trips up to and including the 31 August 2020.
As a UK registered company we closely monitor and follow Government travel advice via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for information on Coronavirus itself, the global situation and tips for prevention. Our decision making for customer travel will directly reflect both the FCO Advisory Levels, and any change in UK or country specific Government guidelines.
We also comply with the “European Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangement Regulations” 2018 as well as seek guidance and best practice from ABTA (the Association of British Travel Agents). We would therefore like to bring to your attention the current Coronavirus Advice for Customers from ABTA which is a useful source of information.
Our priority is, and will always be, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our guests, staff and partners, and will continue to monitor the situation. Many of our accommodations, transport and service providers are choosing to delay opening or are closed in order to protect their staff and customers.
We will continue to review the situation regularly and aim to give at you least eight weeks notice of further postponements or cancellations by our suppliers. We will be in touch with everyone affected as soon as we can.
If your trip can no longer go ahead we will offer the following three choices:
1. Transfer funds now to another trip taking place before 31 December 2021.
2. Receive a credit voucher for 100% of funds paid towards a trip to be booked before 31 December 2021.
3. Cancel your booking and receive a full refund.
If you are booked to travel after 30 August, 2020.
Please wait until 8 weeks before you are booked to travel before deciding to postpone or cancel your trip. If you decide to cancel your trip prior to this time then our usual cancellation Terms and Conditions will apply. If you need time to decide on your best course of action, we are happy to take a more casual approach to balance due dates.
To help keep your dreams of mountains and travel alive we’ve made your future adventures even easier to plan. You can book NOW with no commitment to pay a deposit until 30th September 2020. To take advantage of this offer simply book your preferred trip in the usual way and in the payment section select to pay by ‘Bank Transfer’. Selecting this option means your Booking Form will be submitted without any payment needed.
We look forward to seeing you again in the mountains.
The Tracks and Trails Team
25 March 2020
Dear Tracks and Trails Guests
We hope that this email finds you well during this unusual time.
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus), travellers, and the travel industry as a whole, are facing unprecedented challenges. Over the last few weeks we have been monitoring the situation daily via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), as well as information issued by governments worldwide.
The current advice in place for at least the next 3 weeks is as follows:
COVID-19 Exceptional Travel Advisory Notice
"As countries respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including travel and border restrictions, the FCO advises British nationals against all but essential international travel. Any country or area may restrict travel without notice. If you live in the UK and are currently travelling abroad, you are strongly advised to return now, where and while there are still commercial routes available. Many airlines are suspending flights and many airports are closing, preventing flights from leaving."
The safety of our clients and staff is paramount and on the 19 March 2020 we took the decision to end our Finnish Russian Frontier trip early as local airports were closing and we feared they would have problems returning home. They all returned safely to their countries of origin, and at that point we cancelled remaining trips due to run in March and April 2020. For those of you who had a booking on a trip during these months we will have already been in touch to explain the options being made available to you.
If you have a booking later this summer then we can imagine you have questions about what will happen to your booking, any funds already paid, and whether the trip will run. Anyone who has a booking with us will receive an email explaining the options available to them 8 weeks prior to your trip start date, which is usually the point at which trip balances are paid. Please wait until we contact you about your individual trip.
We are still hopeful that many of our summer trips will go ahead. The situation is changing daily and indeed hourly and we expect this to continue over the coming weeks. We cannot answer any questions about how long this situation will last, nor indeed the outcome and any effects on future travel. When travel is permitted we may find that many of our accommodation suppliers have closed their premises indefinitely. Our thoughts are with them and all the other suppliers we work with who rely on your business to survive.
If you have a booking this summer we assure you that we will continue to monitor the situation daily, and we will make a decision 8 weeks before the trip departure date as to whether it can go ahead or not.
At that point if your trip can no longer go ahead we can offer the following choices:
1. Transfer of your trip deposit to another trip or date.
2. Cancellation of your booking with a full refund.
Tracks and Trails will continue to work towards preparing the company for the re-opening of international travel as soon as this is safe to do so, by which time I’m sure we will all be ready for an adventure in the great ‘outdoors’.
In the meantime please stay safe wherever you are and be assured we are here to answer any questions or concerns you may have with regard to your booking.
The Tracks and Trails Team
