Canadians’ Travel Plans Face Renewed Uncertainty After U.S. Strike on Venezuela
The actions and comments of U.S. President Donald Trump have already pushed many Canadian snowbirds to steer clear of the United States. Now, military action in Venezuela threatens to shrink travel options in the Caribbean too.
Travel advisers across Canada say they’ve been fielding questions from people worried about losing money on winter getaways to destinations such as St. Lucia, Aruba and even Mexico.
When U.S. Delta Forces launched a surprise capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela last weekend, travel by dozens of U.S. carriers to surrounding regions ground to a halt.
Global Affairs Canada warned Canadians to avoid all travel to Venezuela, while Air Canada issued advisories for surrounding regions, offering a flexible rebooking policy for flights to several destinations, including Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, and the Dominican Republic that ended Jan. 6.
As of Tuesday, Air Canada said all flights to the Caribbean and South America have been operating as scheduled.
While military activity over Venezuela appears to be tenuously stable, and many advisories to neighbouring countries were lifted early this week, the situation remains anything but certain. Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has also railed against Colombia‘s President, stated that “Cuba literally is ready to fall” and announced that “something’s going to have to be done with Mexico.”
All of this is happening during a peak travel period. Winter bookings by Canadian customers to South America are up 24 per cent year over year, according to Intrepid Travel.
John Zeus Tokatlidis, spokesperson for Total Advantage Travel & Tours, said his agency recommends travellers who haven’t yet purchased their trips to Mexico or the Caribbean include a comprehensive, cancel-for-any-reason insurance package when they book. (Operators, such as Air Canada Vacations, only offer cancel-for-any-reason insurance as an add-on around the time of booking.)
Travellers with such a policy can get a refund or credit depending on the tour operator and when they cancel.
However, Martin Firestone, a travel insurance specialist, warns that this type of policy isn’t for everyone. It’s often expensive and often only returns 50 or 75 per cent of reimbursable costs.
Standard trip cancellation insurance (for when a trip is disrupted before it starts) or trip interruption insurance (for when a trip has already begun) is usually sufficient, he said. And it can generally be added after a trip has been booked. That said, when it comes to these policies, once a situation becomes publicly known, only insurance purchased before that date will cover the disruption.
Cancellation coverage typically costs around 10 per cent of the sum insured. “A $5,000 trip would run $450 to $500 for a good quality product,” he said. Trip interruption policies are cheaper but usually cap at a flat $25,000 a person for extra airfare, hotels and missed tours.
When it comes to Canadian government travel advisories, standard trip cancellation and interruption insurance generally only applies when a Level 3 (orange) or 4 (red) advisory is issued. Travellers to Cuba, for example, may be on edge about the recent outbreak of chikungunya, an airborne virus carried by mosquitoes, along with dengue fever and Oropouche virus. But, the current travel advisory is Level 2 (yellow).
“You can’t cancel because of fear,” with a standard policy, Mr. Firestone said. But if you have a cancel-for-any-reason policy, the type of advisory as seen in Cuba could be covered, at least in part or as a credit depending on the time of cancellation.
Ratehub’s Natasha Macmillan said insurance on credit cards typically exclude acts of war, civil unrest, or government advisories. “Travellers shouldn’t assume they will be reimbursed if flights are disrupted for political reasons.”
While cancellations for Caribbean trips are rare so far, Mr. Tokatlidis said interest in the western part of the region, particularly the Dominican Republic and eastern Mexico, remains high.
Cuba also remains popular and generally safe, however, Mr. Tokatlidis’s team is advising travellers to consider avoiding Havana at this time and to remain at resorts or hotels. “There are tensions over there.”
His agency also suggests caution for destinations closer to Venezuela, including the “ABC islands” of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, and “high caution” for Colombia. Though the latter has been popular in recent years, he said bookings have completely dropped off in the past month because of political unrest in the country.
At Flight Centre Canada, bookings for the Caribbean remain resilient – even as demand for U.S. travel continues to plummet, said Anita Emilio, the agency’s executive vice-president. “January is always extremely busy. … Mexico is often at the top of that list, and Jamaica, Dominican Republic.”
For those who want to visit the Caribbean but feel nervous, Ms. Emilio suggests cruises for the built-in flexibility: Ships can – and do – change routes if needed.
She is also among the advisers encouraging travellers to consider warm destinations in other regions such as the South Pacific and Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.
While the flights may be more expensive, the Canadian dollar stretches further. Trips to Bali or Thailand can cost roughly the same overall as traditional Caribbean vacations, Ms. Emilio said. For example, a Toronto to Bali round trip with airfare and 10 nights at a five-star hotel starts at $2,838 a person, while a package from Toronto to Thailand starts at $2,200. A similar package from Toronto to Jamaica starts at $2,100 a person.
This article was first reported by The Globe and Mail
