Mauritius- travellers thrown by blacklisting

T
RAVEL agents are urged to
educate themselves and their
clients on new travel restrictions
for foreigners entering Mauritius who
have recently visited West Africa.
Travellers who are unaware of the new
measures could face having to cancel
their vacations, without a refund.
The Mauritius High Commission
recently announced that any foreign
nationals, including South Africans,
who have visited one or more of
the countries affected by Ebola in
the two months prior to their travel
to Mauritius, will temporarily not be
allowed to enter the country. The
affected areas include Nigeria, Guinea,
Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the DRC.
Kirsten Rembold, md of Ginkgo Travel,
says one of her clients wanted to
fly his family from South Africa to
Mauritius and join them there after his
work trip to Nigeria.
“I advised my client and his family
against booking a trip to Mauritius.
They are booking flights to Europe
instead,” said Kirsten.
Little impact
Silvana Polo, operations manager
of Beachcomber Tours, says
Beachcomber has had a handful of
bookings that were affected by this
new measure but overall it will not have
a huge impact on the Mauritius holiday
season. “We have had cancellations,
but not many. It is more important that
we are kept abreast of the changes
the island makes so that we can pass
on accurate and factual information to
make agents’ lives easier.”
According to Silvana, it is important
for travel agents to be aware of the
new regulations and advise their
clients accordingly, as insurance
companies and airlines will not give
a refund if clients need to cancel
because they will be denied access
due to the Ebola virus.
Travel insurance
Uriah Jansen, md of Oojah Travel
Protection, confirms that the standard
travel insurance policies will only
provide cancellation cover for ‘named
reasons’. “Cancellation due to a
government prohibition – as is the case
with Mauritius – is a general exclusion
to the cover provided under the Named
Reason Cancellation product. The
Cancel for Any Reason product will
provide cover for cancellation due
to this. However the traveller has to
purchase this benefit within 24 hours
of paying for his/her trip.”
Johann Strydom, md of World Leisure
Holidays, says Mauritius has taken the
right decision.
“The protection of clients against
illnesses, in this case the Ebola virus,
will have a positive impact on tourism
to the island. It is the responsible thing
to do to safeguard the many tourists
visiting from around the world.”