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Press photography “Save the tourism” in Frankfurt to support the travel industry in Corona time is the subject of this article. The travel industry is suffering the consequences of the Corona pandemic. With a renewed demonstration in Frankfurt, the participants drew attention to their plight.
The current restrictions particularly affect the tourism industry, which cannot sell tours and is also not financially supported by the federal government. So far, the big players have been supported – I’ll just mention Lufthansa, Condor and TUI.
But what happens to small travel agencies and medium-sized tour operators?
Travel agencies can no longer sell trips and are also losing last year’s profits, threatening a huge wave of insolvencies. Both travel agencies and tour operators are affected, are practically subject to a professional ban. The services already provided, such as payment for hotels, tour guides, drivers, have now been canceled due to the travel ban, but the travel agencies are not being reimbursed and are in a bind. On the one hand, the justified reclaims of your customers on the other hand, however, the lack of refunds from hotels and airlines.
Background information that no vacationer knows
A tour operator has already paid its “providers” on site in advance when booking a trip. Whether it’s payments for the hotel, rental car or a local guide, the services were prepaid. Now, due to the worldwide Corona crisis, flights and trips are no longer taking place. Everything was canceled and employees were put on short-time work. Even if one applied for and was granted emergency aid, this aid is quickly used up because only the operating costs are taken into account and no living costs are included.
Another, important issue is exchange rate fluctuations when traveling abroad. European travel law is not applied here. However, the organizer has to pay back 100% of the money to his clients, but on the opposite side he does not get any money back from the payments made to his foreign partners. Vouchers are not a solution in this situation.
The industry is demanding a rescue fund from politicians. Travel is prohibited and thus the industry no longer earns money. Many of the demonstrating participants fear for their existence, there is a threat of insolvency.
The customer gets his money back for a booked package tour, in case of insolvency, because there is the security certificate. The tour operator is obliged to secure the collected customer funds against its own insolvency and insolvency and to ensure that payments made to the traveler before the start of the trip as well as necessary return travel costs are reimbursed in the event of insolvency. The same applies to the intermediary of associated travel services. When accepting payments for travel services provided by third party service providers, the service provider must also take out appropriate insurance in the event of its own insolvency.https://www.deutschertourismusverband.de/recht/versicherungen/insolvenzversicherung.html
There are 4 major reinsurers in Germany, the 110. million euros. The insolvency of Thomas Cook and Condor has already shown that these sums are not sufficient. Therefore, a change is also urgently needed, because at last the federal government must also intervene in a supportive manner.
Lufthansa and TUI are supported with billions. What happens to the money?
TUI is going to lay off about 8,000 employees, so I wonder why the government doesn’t impose any conditions and now jobs are being cut immediately. (Source Handelsblatt, 13.05.2020, Christoph Schlautmann)
Tourism stands for almost 3 million employees, 290 billion euros in sales and a 3.9 percent share of Germany’s gross value added. Every 15th job in Germany is attributable to tourism. The tourism industry thus remains an important economic force and major employer in our country.(http://www.btw.de/tourismus-in-zahlen/wirtschaftsfaktor-tourismus.html)
CONCLUSIONS:
Whether it’s a travel agency (travel agent) or a tour operator or an airline or a hotel – WE ARE TOURISM means that ultimately everyone is in the same boat and depends on each other. The industry is in a state of upheaval, new structures have to be established, compensation through travel vouchers is not expedient, and the layoffs of thousands of employees at a major corporation that has received billions in aid in advance is a political disaster. The hope remains that politicians will act prudently and responsibly and that a new fund will bring relief. Travel connects and tourism is an important economic force that creates many workers.
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This video, with the kind support of Mayorov Media (0176 2266 2285), was also broadcast in the media just 2 hours later.
