The Travel Corporation (TTC) has announced a new COVID-19 vaccination requirement for all adult guests, across all its guided tour brands. This came into effect on August 13.
The policy, which applies to Trafalgar, CostSaver, Contiki, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold, Uniworld, U by Uniworld and Haggis, requires guests to show documented proof of having received complete vaccination with Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca, or Johnson & Johnson.
The final dose of the vaccine must have been taken 15 days prior to departure.
- Prior to their cruise/tour, all guests must update their vaccination status (for themselves and all others on their booking) on their passenger information form. Links are provided at the time of booking.
- Guests must be able to show documented proof of vaccination from the first day of their cruise/tour, and must present their proof of vaccination to their tour’s Wellbeing Director, Travel Director, Trip Manager or Travelling Concierge before joining the tour, and again on arrival at a destination.
- Proof of vaccine must show the traveller’s full name, which must match the name on the passport or any other recognised travel document.
- Proof of vaccine can be in either printed or digital format.
- In the event the client is unvaccinated or is unable to receive vaccination, TTC says it will allow the agent to postpone the trip to a later date.
TTC stresses that its own requirements, listed above, may differ from those imposed by airlines and/or countries to be visited. “We continue to encourage consultants to use the resources available to help find this information, including the official government website for each country,” says TTC.
The new policy will remain in effect until at least December 31, 2021, and could be extended or
reviewed.
Kelly Jackson, md of The Travel Corporation, told Travel News that in addition to many European countries opening up to vaccinated South African visitors, it is now common for onshore venues such as museums, restaurants and historic sites to require proof of full vaccination, or proof of a negative PCR test (and this may require near-daily testing for non-vaccinated visitors). And taking multiple PCR tests to participate in many of the tour’s included activities wouldn’t provide the seamless and joyful travel experience that TTC wants to provide.
“When faced with the rising COVID-19 cases among the unvaccinated population and having to exclude unvaccinated guests from activities and subject them to frequent out-of-pocket on-trip testing, we feel that requiring all guests to be vaccinated is the most responsible choice,” said a release from TTC.
