A “sea of uncertainty” over holiday bookings has prompted Kuoni to re-launch its flexible peace of mind pledge.
Flex+ allows holidays to be cancelled or changed up to ten days before long-haul travel and 21 days for European trips for any reason.
Many people who want to book a trip overseas are being put off, worried about losing their money or the hassle of making changes, ahead of the government’s Travel Task Force delivering its report on the way ahead for international travel next month, according to the operator.
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The new version of Kuoni’s Flex+ promise is available across a range of holidays for travel any time up until December 15. It is available on new bookings made until May 17.
The offer is on selected holidays throughout the Indian Ocean, Far East and Europe with handpicked airlines which includes Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, SriLankan Airlines and British Airways.
Kuoni chief executive Derek Jones said: “Whilst there are many other flexible booking policies, we’ve been a leader from the beginning of this crisis, working with our suppliers to create a compelling flex policy and we’re confident that this is the most generous offer from any travel company right now.
“We want people to be excited about planning their holidays again, with the knowledge that they can change their mind, move the dates or easily get their money back up to ten days before they are due to go.”
He added: “We’ve listened carefully to what customers are telling us. There’s strong demand for destinations including the Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, the Caribbean, Italy and Greece, but there’s still a hesitancy to commit to booking.
“They need reassurance that if circumstances change they can amend or cancel without penalty. We’ve worked hard with our hotel and airline partners to deliver this – and the new version is now extended to include Saint Lucia and long-haul trips with British Airways.
“Holidays are central to people’s happiness and the anticipation of a holiday provides a much needed boost to wellbeing.
“We’ve been refunding customer’s money for cancelled trips in an average of 10 days, so that offer, as part of Flex+ will give people the confidence to make decisions around their travel plans and give them something positive to look forward to.”