ITAA welcomes state guarantee for Covid-19 refund credit notes

The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) have responded positively to an announcement made today by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport stating that special Covid-19 refund credit notes issued by Irish licensed travel agents and tour operators will be protected by a state guarantee.

This guarantee will protect the cash value of a refund credit note in the event that a travel agent or tour operator becomes insolvent and goes out of business.

Under the Package Travel Directive, consumers are entitled to a full cash refund if their package holiday was cancelled as a result of the pandemic. Unfortunately, this led to difficulties for travel agents and tour operators who had difficulty securing refunds for customers from their suppliers. It put huge financial pressure on businesses within the industry. However, this new development means that where customers accept the refund credit note, the government will honour the cash value of the credit note should the issuer go out of business.

This development was a direct result of months of discussion between the ITAA, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and other government departments. The government agreed to these measures in May in order to assure consumers that it was safe to accept vouchers as a refund for holiday cancellations due to Covid-19.

ITAA CEO Pat Dawson stated: “For the last three months, our member travel agents and tour operators have been under immense pressure both financially and personally as they tried to do what was best for their customers and their livelihood. The news that the government is willing to stand over the refund credit note has brought huge relief within the Irish travel sector, as it is a step in rebuilding our industry as soon as the threat of Covid-19 has passed.

“We are pleased with this significant development for our customers and our member travel agents. We would like to thank the officials from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport who have worked tirelessly on bringing this about.”

The refund credit note has been established by the Transport (Tour Operators and Travel Agents) Act 1982 (Disbursements from Fund) Regulations 2020 (SI 218 of 2020).