90% of people want government to develop reimbursement policy for travel reservations in the event of a pandemic: survey
MUMBAI: Up to 90% of those polled in a survey to assess problems in obtaining reimbursement for canceled travel bookings, including airline tickets, as a result of Covid-19, want the government to formulate a pandemic-specific cancellation refund policy.
According to the survey of the online platform LocalCircles, based on more than 37,000 responses received from citizens of 359 districts, some travel agents (online and offline), airlines as well as hotels has not initiated any refund with people losing the full amount of the reservation.
According to the platform, only 12-13% of those who canceled travel bookings due to the second wave of Covid were able to get timely refunds.
“Up to 95% of citizens believe that the current policies of airlines, railways or hotels are not in the best interests of consumers and 90% want the government to come up with a refund policy for travel bookings up to ” until the COVID pandemic is triggered. “said LocalCircles.
The same could be brought by the respective ministries like civil aviation, tourism and railways or by the ministry of interior under the 2005 law on disaster management, adding that people also suggested 3 option trip reservation cancellation and refund policy.
Based on the results of the investigation, the best-case scenario might be to give people the option of either granting a refund within the week and 20% of the amount to be deducted as treatment costs, or a refund within a week. one month time frame and only 10% of the amount to be deducted as a processing fee or no refund, but a voucher for the full amount issued that can be used for future trips within two years, he said .
This way, travelers can be assured that their losses will be limited in the event that they are faced with a cancellation situation due to the pandemic, LocalCircles said.
The platform said it will submit the results of this survey to key central government stakeholders so that they can be used as input into decision-making regarding the formulation of a uniform policy for cancellation refunds. travel reservation system during the Covid pandemic.
According to the platform, while some were able to recover a partial amount, others were asked to book flights and hotel stays at a later date and only 12-13% of those who canceled travel bookings due to the second wave of Covid were able to get a refund on time.
According to LocalCircles, the second wave of the pandemic has forced many citizens and families to cancel their travel plans.
At the time, many citizens reported to LocalCircles about the issues they faced when trying to cancel tickets and hotel stays for their booked summer travel, he said.
Acknowledging the issue, LocalCircles said they had conducted a survey to assess the extent of the problem people faced with travel cancellation reimbursements due to Wave 2 and also asked for the citizens’ pulse on the need for the government to offer a cancellation policy. this applies to airlines, railways, hotels and the like until the Covid pandemic continues, he said.
He also researched citizens’ perceptions of what would constitute a fair and prompt refund if tickets are canceled due to restrictions or Covid risks.
“Ninety percent of citizens said the government should come up with a special policy that applies to airlines, railways, hotels, etc.
Of the remaining 10 percent, 7 percent did not express an opinion, according to the poll.
According to the platform, “only 12% of citizens in the entire survey said the travel agent / airline accepted the cancellation and refunded the full amount” when they made the reservations and decided to cancel, while 32% said they did. not received a refund and lost the ticket amount. ”
While 12% of respondents said ‘the travel agent / airline accepted the cancellation but refunded a partial amount’, and 4% said they received only a small amount as a refund . anything but rebooking the ticket for a later date, LocalCircles said.
“When asked how the cancellation process worked for hotel stay (s) booked for travel during the summer, only 13% said that their cancellation request had been accepted and that they had been refunded the full amount, but 44% responded that they had not. receive a refund and lost the amount of the reservation, â€according to the survey.
This survey question received 8,594 responses.
According to the survey of the online platform LocalCircles, based on more than 37,000 responses received from citizens of 359 districts, some travel agents (online and offline), airlines as well as hotels has not initiated any refund with people losing the full amount of the reservation.
According to the platform, only 12-13% of those who canceled travel bookings due to the second wave of Covid were able to get timely refunds.
“Up to 95% of citizens believe that the current policies of airlines, railways or hotels are not in the best interests of consumers and 90% want the government to come up with a refund policy for travel bookings up to ” until the COVID pandemic is triggered. “said LocalCircles.
The same could be brought by the respective ministries like civil aviation, tourism and railways or by the ministry of interior under the 2005 law on disaster management, adding that people also suggested 3 option trip reservation cancellation and refund policy.
Based on the results of the investigation, the best-case scenario might be to give people the option of either granting a refund within the week and 20% of the amount to be deducted as treatment costs, or a refund within a week. one month time frame and only 10% of the amount to be deducted as a processing fee or no refund, but a voucher for the full amount issued that can be used for future trips within two years, he said .
This way, travelers can be assured that their losses will be limited in the event that they are faced with a cancellation situation due to the pandemic, LocalCircles said.
The platform said it will submit the results of this survey to key central government stakeholders so that they can be used as input into decision-making regarding the formulation of a uniform policy for cancellation refunds. travel reservation system during the Covid pandemic.
According to the platform, while some were able to recover a partial amount, others were asked to book flights and hotel stays at a later date and only 12-13% of those who canceled travel bookings due to the second wave of Covid were able to get a refund on time.
According to LocalCircles, the second wave of the pandemic has forced many citizens and families to cancel their travel plans.
At the time, many citizens reported to LocalCircles about the issues they faced when trying to cancel tickets and hotel stays for their booked summer travel, he said.
Acknowledging the issue, LocalCircles said they had conducted a survey to assess the extent of the problem people faced with travel cancellation reimbursements due to Wave 2 and also asked for the citizens’ pulse on the need for the government to offer a cancellation policy. this applies to airlines, railways, hotels and the like until the Covid pandemic continues, he said.
He also researched citizens’ perceptions of what would constitute a fair and prompt refund if tickets are canceled due to restrictions or Covid risks.
“Ninety percent of citizens said the government should come up with a special policy that applies to airlines, railways, hotels, etc.
Of the remaining 10 percent, 7 percent did not express an opinion, according to the poll.
According to the platform, “only 12% of citizens in the entire survey said the travel agent / airline accepted the cancellation and refunded the full amount” when they made the reservations and decided to cancel, while 32% said they did. not received a refund and lost the ticket amount. ”
While 12% of respondents said ‘the travel agent / airline accepted the cancellation but refunded a partial amount’, and 4% said they received only a small amount as a refund . anything but rebooking the ticket for a later date, LocalCircles said.
“When asked how the cancellation process worked for hotel stay (s) booked for travel during the summer, only 13% said that their cancellation request had been accepted and that they had been refunded the full amount, but 44% responded that they had not. receive a refund and lost the amount of the reservation, â€according to the survey.
This survey question received 8,594 responses.