When your destination becomes a no-go zone

Peter Schryvers, an urban planner in Calgary, began organizing his first trip to Asia— Nepal, specifically—about six weeks ago. He booked a ticket to Kathmandu, leaving May 19 and returning two weeks later. The idea was to tour the city of about 1 million people for three days, then play it by ear for a week or so. The country’s historic Buddhist and Hindu temples would likely take up most of his time.

On April 26th, just a day after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal, taking more than an estimated 4,800 lives in the region and damaging four of seven UNESCO World Heritage sites in the country, Schryvers tweeted: So tragic to hear what happened in Nepal. Decided to still go on my planned trip in May. Tourism can help to rebuild.

He’s not that sure he can follow through on the pledge. “If it’s not safe, if there’s a travel advisory in place, I won’t go,” Schryvers says. “Otherwise, I’m going. It will still be an experience. When you travel, you’re paying for the experience more than anything, and maybe I’ll be able to volunteer somehow.

“The country depends so much on tourism. If you have a national disaster it’s bad enough, so if tourism falls off, it’s like getting hit twice,” he adds.

Schryvers is not alone in his decision—others holding tickets to Nepal for later this year have taken to social media declaring their intention to stick to travel plans— but he’s in the minority. Thousands of would-be tourists have already begun calling off their trips, just as climbing season on Mount Everest is getting underway. Some fear for their own safety, others fear becoming a nuisance to relief efforts.

Travellers facing this scenario, seeing their plans undone by force majeure, are often encouraged to redirect at least part of their trip money to victims and rebuilding projects. But one’s ability to recover such an investment in the face of a natural disaster isn’t always a given. When the destination on your itinerary becomes a no-go zone, it’s usually unclear what options even exist. There is no single set of guidelines about the way companies must handle prepaid trips or how airlines will decide when to refund tickets. There are only rules of thumb.

The limits of insurance

Cancellation policies are always recommended for destinations known to be prone to natural disasters or conflict—exactly the kinds of places that draw today’s adventure travellers. What may surprise vacationers, however, is that standard cancellation coverage is only useful in catastrophes when the Canadian government has issued one of two serious travel advisories: “Avoid all travel” or “Avoid nonessential travel” to the country in question. (The government’s less alarming advisories are “Exercise a high degree of caution” and “Exercise normal security precautions.”)

If you do hold cancellation and trip interruption insurance when a serious advisory is announced, you can expect to be reimbursed for 100% of all trip-specific prepaid, nonrefundable expenses, including fees for plane, train, or cruise tickets, hotels, rental cars, ground transportation and tickets to events. What’s not covered are costs for visa applications, vaccinations, and personal belongings, including trip-related purchases such as climbing or diving gear. Plan costs vary depending on the duration of your trip, the date you buy insurance, the cost of your trip, and your age, but expect to pay about 4% - 12 % of the total amount you’re planning to insure. 

Even if you didn’t buy insurance, you might still be covered by your credit card if you used it to pay for the trip. Premium cards often include cancellation insurance as a free perk. In this case, payout limits are much lower—up to $1,500 in reimbursements is the norm. (It may be possible to top up this insurance rather than buy a third-party policy the next time you travel.)

For customers who didn’t use a credit card or buy insurance, which is Schryvers’s situation, everything comes down to either small print, decisions made by the travel company, or both. Hotels and speciality tour operators will usually be accommodating, depending on the severity of the event. Airlines are a different story.

In response to a cataclysmic event, one airline might refund all tickets without exception while another will extend credit or waive change fees. When an airport in a disaster zone remains open, the carrier could choose to return payments only to customers holding an elite class of ticket, not the bargain shoppers. It’s also possible that the last leg of a ticket will be covered but not any connecting flights leading up to it, especially if you didn’t buy all of your flights from the same place. Bottom line: contact your airline to find out where you stand.

Going despite the risks?

Before Schryvers flies to Nepal to volunteer, he plans to investigate whether non-specialists like him are even needed. Within the next week or so, he’s also going to contact the hotel he booked to make sure it’s still operating.

Anyone who chooses to fly into a country dealing with a devastating calamity will need to take the same steps. It’s also worth investigating whether new health risks exist in the area and how to avoid them. Research weather advisories, too; find out if other events–flooding, typhoons, storms, or possible political unrest—could be a factor during your stay.

Then there are the usual precautions for risky journeys: Register with the Canadian government before you leave and again with the Canadian consulate once you’ve arrived overseas. In some countries, you’ll need to find out whether consular services are even available.

Make sure you know how to make international phone calls from your destination. Become familiar with local disaster plans, if they exist. Give someone at home a copy of your itinerary and passport, and consider learning basic first aid. (Make room in your luggage for medical supplies.)

Should you choose to buy cancellation and interruption insurance next time, be aware of cut-off dates leading up to the date of departure. (Use sources like Swiss Re’s Mind the Risk report, a ranking of more than 600 global cities for disaster potential, to inform your buy-or-not decision.)

Finally, remember that travel companies also sell cancellation “for any reason” policies, meaning you can back away from a vacation simply because you’ve changed your mind. In the case of a tragedy, you wouldn’t need official advisories to recoup your expenses, freeing up that money for a possible donation.