British Tour Operator Tui Scraps Vacations Until July

Tui, the UK’s biggest package tour and vacation company, has advised that it will be canceling all foreign vacations up until July 1st, the Guardian reports.

Cancellations Due To Ongoing Coronavirus Crisis

In a statement on its website issued on Friday, the company confirmed that “Due to the ongoing situation regarding COVID-19, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently advise against all but essential travel. We’d like to extend a personal thank you for your patience and understanding as our customer service and social media teams work around the clock during such an unprecedented time.”

It added, “We’ve been working behind the scenes to make a number of changes to our processes. These changes will make sure that we’re able to offer additional support to you going forward and will make managing your booking much easier for you.”

Which Packages Have Been Cancelled?

In its statement, Tui goes on to specify which package vacation types and bookings have been affected. The company states that all of its vacations booked to travel on or before June 30th are now canceled, as are its river cruises booked to sail up to and including November 25th. Additionally, the operator has scrapped all of its lakes and mountain packages up to and including September 30th.

Finally, Tui has also advised of widespread cancellations to its line of Marella Cruises. All sailings scheduled to take place on or before July 30th have been canceled plus a host of other sailings throughout 2021.

A full list of vacations, packages, and excursions impacted can be viewed here, but Tui has stated that “All other holidays are continuing to operate as planned and will be continuously reviewed.”

As the Guardian reported at the end of April, the company had been hoping to operate to some of its packages by mid-June.

Options For Customers Unable To Travel

As with many travel companies and operators, Tui is offering a range of options to accommodate those customers unable to use their planned bookings.

In addition to refunds, it is also offering a refund credit.

Explaining this process, Tui said, “We understand that you may not be ready to book again just yet, so the refund credit gives you the flexibility to book your travel in future. Plus, if your original booking was for a package holiday, you’ll get a separate booking incentive of up to 20%. For example, if you paid £2,000 ($2,441) for your holiday booking you now have £2,400 ($2,929) to spend. You will receive a separate email four weeks from your original departure date with all the relevant information, if you were due to cruise from 1 July onwards you’ll receive it by the end of June.”