alexinc

I was supposed to fly from Kathmandu to Lhasa on a roundtrip flight at the end of next month. However, the Chinese government unofficially announced a closure on all of Tibet to all foreigners - days after I purchased my ticket.

I purchased it through Orbitz and have been on the telephones and e-mails with them and Air China nonstop. It it as a standstill where they will not refund my money until Air China puts an advisory. I have my doubts that will happen in that the Chinese government will never publicly announce their temporary ban so the flight paths will remain, Chinese nationals being able to still fly to Tibet.

Group Visas from the China Embassy in Kathmandu has also halted until after the closure is lifted. This means no one will be able to enter Tibet from Nepal, unless they already received their group visa until November.

Very frustrating situation. I know travel to Tibet is risky, but I am hoping that Air China will find some compassion to refund flights due to the unusual circumstance.

Anyone else in this predicament? I am just trying to raise awareness amongst Air China's personnel as some people have e-mailed me back saying this is the first of them hearing of the closure.

bocastephen

Unfortunately the occupation and enslavement of Tibet will entail this kind of outrageous risk - what I would do is go to your credit card company and start a dispute. Did you buy travel insurance or does any come with your credit card, although they might claim a 'force majeure' exclusion for insurance.

Try disputing it first - Orbitz is just the agent, the charge should be from Air China and the chargeback might force them to reply.

Unfortunately the only way to see the "real" Tibet is via a visit to Bhutan which more closely resembles what Tibet used to be like before the occupation

jiejie

I agree with this--might be the only leverage you have. The Chinese government will not issue any official word on the closure to foreigners, therefore neither will Air China. The flights themselves aren't being cancelled since Chinese/Hong Kong citizens are not being refused entry to Tibet.

This is flatly incorrect. Bhutan is not Tibet; they are quite different. The best way to see Tibet is in China, outside the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). The TAR is an administrative concoction of the Chinese government, but Tibetans and their culture are found throughout the upland areas of Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, and Yunnan provinces where they have historically always been....and in most cases, are much more authentic and untouched by Han Chinese culture, compared to publicly accessible areas of the TAR. These areas are collectively known as Amdo and Kham. With a very few localized exceptions that can be avoided, all areas are currently open to foreigners without need for Permits or prearrangements with guides. However, tourist infrastructure in many of these places is more rudimentary and English is not spoken, so you'd either need to enter into a spirit of adventure or engage a local bilingual guide and a driver. But cost is a fraction of a trip to the TAR.

OP, one possible way to salvage this trip is to build off the existing Kathmandu-Lhasa round-trip flight and make Lhasa a connection point to another trip staging point such as Shangri-La (Deqin/Zhongdian) in Yunnan, Chengdu in Sichuan, Xiahe/Gannan in Gansu, or Xining in Qinghai. People making connections in Lhasa but not visiting the TAR are allowed to do so but are kept in Lhasa airport for duration of the connection. You would not use the special group visa but would need to get a standard Chinese tourist visa. Presumably you would be getting a refund from your Tibet tour agent that can defray the cost and change of plans. Some Lhasa-based agents are able to set up alternate arrangements in Amdo and/or Kham.

Often1

Until CA denies OP boarding at KTM, I doubt that CA will refund the ticket.

We have no idea where the CC was issued and therefore no way of knowing whether and for what reasons, he may dispute the charge.

But, if this is a US card, it will be very hard for a US issuer to sustain a chargeback on the grounds that OP believes that China has "closed" Tibet to him.

bocastephen

I think this is asking a lot of all but the most experienced, and flexible travelers - Bhutan has the right infrastructure, culture, restaurants, history and architecture to provide a very deep insight into traditional Himalayan culture without the effort needed to handle a trip into remote regions of China. It's up to the OP based on their experience level and willingness to try out something unique and off the beaten path (ie, visiting Gabon in Africa to see untouched wildlife without the tourist infrastructure) - but for now, to get their money back, I think any documentation found online that indicates their entry into China-occupied Tibet is a no-go should suffice to get the ball rolling with their credit card dispute, and with their money back, they can start over with a new plan.

alexinc

UPDATE: Great news. After many fone calls and e-mails, I was finally able to reach someone higher up in Air China to hear the unusual circumstance I was in. They showed compassion - after me calling them and Orbitz many times, I was able to get my flights fully refunded.

Very happy as they were not cheap flights and this was totally out of my control as my Tibet tour operator told me I would've been refused entry if I tried to enter. Even with the Chinese government unofficially announcing closure, I was going off of very little and I am just happy that Air China was able to see the predicament and act accordingly.

Already, I can tell from ten years ago (the last time I was in China) this would've been impossible to get a refund. Great to see customer service has improved quite a bit, despite the massive effort.

aceman

Same position. But I booked direct and air china will refund minus $75 cancellation charge.

Travel insurance (Amex platinum) won't cover "political reasons" in cancellation which I'm a little flabbergasted by!

have had 3 emails from them saying they've not heard anything about it.

travelinmanS

Any idea why the region is off limits again? Due to the October conference in Beijing?

jiejie

Yes.

aceman

Sorry just saw this, how high did you have to escalate with them, and did they actually acknowledge the closure? I'm en route to Kathmandu at present and might have to tackle them via Skype from there