Most travel agencies will close if the only solution for legal business is a bank guarantee, according to the association of travel agencies.
The Association of Travel Agencies of Serbia (UTAS) and the Association of Independent Travel Agencies of Serbia (ANTAS) estimate that most agencies will close soon and thus jeopardize the million-dollar payment of passengers whose arrangements were not realized due to the corona virus pandemic, if the only way to ensure business through bank guarantees, which are presented in detail in the new Ordinance on the type, amount and conditions of the travel guarantee.
“We ask that we be allowed to work urgently by signing annexes to the contracts of previous guarantees, because we have been blocked for 20 days. It takes time to find a quality and long-term solution, as well as respect for the profession in the development of the new rulebook,” the statement said. As they explained, the details of the bank guarantee are only a legal-formal solution that cannot be applied in practice, and those guarantees will not contribute to the agencies continuing to work.
“The projected amounts are unattainable because smaller agencies must have guarantees of 200,000 euros, which would mean pledging assets worth more than that, while larger tour operators need more than 400,000 euros.”
UTAS and ANTAS believe that only individual insurance policies for each individual trip can provide the best protection for the passenger.
“This type of insurance will certainly not contribute to a significant increase in the price of the arrangement, because the previous policies were included in its price.”
In addition to the urgency of the annex, representatives of travel agencies are required to be a mandatory part of all working groups on future regulations that more precisely regulate their activities “because in this process, information from practice is necessary.”
“It is necessary to respect the opinion of the profession so that we do not come to a ban on doing business again with the next crisis,” BiF reports.
