Corona: protect travel vouchers from bankruptcy

Florian Tiefenböck studied human medicine at the LMU Munich. In March 2014, he joined as a student and has supported the editorial team with medical articles ever since. After receiving his medical license and practical work in internal medicine at the University Hospital Augsburg, he has been a permanent member of the team since December 2019 and, among other things, ensures the medical quality of the tools.

More posts by Florian Tiefenböck All content is checked by medical journalists.

Many package holidaymakers accepted vouchers for their unusual trips during the Corona crisis. But only recently have such vouchers been insured against bankruptcy. What to do now.

Package holidaymakers should exchange old travel vouchers for new ones that are protected against bankruptcy. This is advised by the consumer advice center Baden-Württemberg.

According to the recommendation of the consumer advocates, vacationers who have already received a voucher for a canceled trip from their tour operator in the past few months should take action now: They should ask their provider to adapt or exchange the voucher in accordance with the new legal situation.

No more risk of bankruptcy for package holidaymakers

At the beginning of July, the federal government decided to protect travel vouchers against bankruptcy. For example, if the organizer goes bankrupt due to Corona and can only pay out part of the voucher value, the state pays the remaining amount.

However, organizers started issuing vouchers for canceled vacations immediately after the outbreak of the pandemic - i.e. before the law was passed. Anyone who can adjust the old voucher or swap it for a new one is now protected against bankruptcies, explain the consumer advocates.

No extra costs for consumers

The consumer advice center emphasizes that there should be no fees for adapting or exchanging the old voucher. It must also be noted that the voucher was issued because of the pandemic, as it is then only valid until December 31, 2021. If it has not been redeemed by then, affected package holidaymakers are entitled to immediate reimbursement of their advance payments.

In any case, according to the law, package holidaymakers do not have to accept a voucher if the corona pandemic has thwarted their trip. The acceptance of vouchers is voluntary. Consumers always have the option of getting their money back from the tour operator. (ft / dpa)

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