Frequently asked questions
of COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Updated on October 13, 2021
Vaccine passport
Effective October 30, 2021, Air passengers departing from Canadian airports, travellers on trains, and travellers on passenger vessels engaged in non-essential activities and on voyages of 24 hours or more, such as cruise ships, will need to be vaccinated. As of October 30, travellers will need to be fully vaccinated in order to board a ship.
Specifically, the vaccination requirements will apply to all travelers 12 years of age and older who are:
- air passengers on domestic, transborder or international flights departing from a Canadian airport;
- passengers on VIA Rail and Rocky Mountaineer trains;
- passengers on passenger vessels engaged in non-core activities, such as cruise ships, that are on voyages of 24 hours or more in duration.”
As a result of these new government measures, Spiritours will require the “Covid-19 Vaccine Passport” for all international travel, or with a domestic flight and some travel within Quebec.
In Quebec, the vaccine passport is required for places that offer the following services
- The restaurants and dining rooms;
- Hotels that rent rooms for meetings, conventions, etc.
See the complete list of places and activities requiring the vaccination passport
Covid-19 Spiritours 2021-2022 Plan
For travel outside Canada, in the event that the government notice avoid non-essential travel outside the country remains in effect for at least 60 days prior to departure, then we will will postpone the trip. If the new dates are not convenient for you, we will then offer a crédit-voyage de la valeur du montant déboursé, il sera applicable on all other Spiritours trips and will have a minimum validity of 24 months.
*Please note: The conditions for the above-mentioned travel credit may be different depending on whether you were registered for one of our (postponed) trips scheduled to depart before May 13, 2020. If you are in this case, you will receive an email notification no later than 60 days before departure with all the conditions and options available to you.
New Covid-19 flexibility promo
For all new registrations after November 1, 2021, your trip is 100% refundable up to 120 days before departure, with the exception of certain special events including Oberammergau 2022.
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As a member of ARF-Québec (Agences réceptives et forfaitistes du Québec), Spiritours has access to webinars and training on the subject for members of management and all our employees. We have a legal obligation to comply with the rules and procedures put in place to reduce and control the risk of infection with COVID-19. Our agency is committed to respecting and ensuring compliance with all measures and instructions issued by the Institut national de la santé publique du Québec, which are integrated into our response plan for Covid-19. The service providers used for all our packages have also signed this commitment to comply with health measures. It is our responsibility to ensure that the service providers are open at the time of the client’s trip. The agency reserves the right to modify the packages in the event of the closure or non-reopening of service providers initially included, by proposing equivalent solutions to the clients.
SPIRITOURS HEALTH RESPONSE PLAN
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Dear travelers,
Since our founding in 2003, our number one priority has been and continues to be the health and safety of our clients. During these 17 years, we have accompanied our groups through every type of problem that has arisen, helping our travelers discover the world in the safest way possible. With our global network of local partners in every destination we travel to, we have the ability to make adjustments in real time, on the ground if necessary.
The current situation around the world is exceptional and is seriously affecting the tourism industry as well as the world economy.
Spiritours takes this evolving pandemic very seriously. We are constantly adjusting our policies in accordance with the various notices regarding COVID-19.
As we work hard to find the best solutions and assist our clients, our thoughts are with those affected by the COVID-19 situation around the world, including our partners in the affected communities.
1. What does SPIRITOURS propose for its travelers in the face of COVID-19?
We have rescheduled all trips that were confirmed with a departure between March 13 and July 2020 to 2021, with the exception of one or two custom groups that preferred to cancel (for a cancellation fee). We have cancelled all trips in the same period that were not confirmed and refunded the participants. We have also rescheduled trips scheduled between August and December 2020 to 2021. Our preferred option has always been to reschedule trips to avoid cancellation fees for our clients.
Spiritours would like to assure its customers that we are available to answer your questions regarding upcoming travel, however since all employees are telecommuting, we prioritize communication through our website and electronically. We will continue to assess the situation on an ongoing basis and communicate any changes as soon as possible.
2. What happens if my trip is postponed and the new dates don't work for me?
Once the new travel dates are set, you also have the option to cancel if these dates are not convenient for you, subject to a cancellation fee as outlined in the Terms and Conditions. For all departures scheduled after October 1, 2020 (whether or not the trip has already been rescheduled), if the trip is rescheduled to a later date in 2021, we will offer as an alternative a travel credit valid for at least 24 months for another trip of your choice.
3. Is it possible to get a refund if I want to cancel?
Si vous avez acheté une assurance-annulation avec nous (Blue Cross Travel Insurance) prior to March 12, 2020, as recommended in all of our literature and customer communications, you are covered by Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance, provided a “Avoid Non-Essential Travel” or “Avoid All Travel” warning has been issued by the Government of Canada for the destination you were planning to visit after your Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption Insurance policy effective date.
For more information visit THIS WEBSITE
If you have your own cancellation insurance, check the terms and conditions of your insurance company. If you paid by credit card, check to see if your trip has applicable insurance and extended coverage. If you are not insured, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation fee (see our terms and conditions).
Know that you have financial protection with the travel agency customer compensation fund, which is automatically available to you free of charge when you deal with a travel agent licensed in Quebec. You may be eligible for a refund under certain conditions. For your situation to be eligible for reimbursement by the CCIF, you must – your destination is covered by an official warning issued by the Canadian government; – this warning was issued after you purchased your trip; and – it is still in effect 72 hours or less before your departure.
For more information VISIT THIS WEBSITE
4. Is my money protected in your trust account?
When you pay for your trip, this money is deposited in a trust account as required by travel agent law. When the tour is confirmed (with a sufficient number of travelers), we send payments to the suppliers, from this same trust account, in order to properly book the services (air tickets, hotels, charter bus…), according to the same law. Your money does not stay in the trust account until the trip as some people seem to think. As soon as the trip is confirmed, we have to pay our suppliers and these payments are mostly non-refundable. Despite the current situation, many providers refuse to refund and instead offer credits for a later date.
5. What about refunds for flights with Air Transat and Air Canada?
Transat and Air Canada have received financial assistance from the federal government to repay the credits. If the flights you took with us were with Transat or Air Canada and your airline ticket was held back for a postponement or offered as a credit because of the pandemic, in short if you are eligible, you can make a request for reimbursement for the airline portion. For the rest, the conditions remain the same.
We thank you for your cooperation during this difficult time and we pray that this temporary situation will be resolved as soon as possible.
The Spiritours team