TORONTO -- More travellers in Toronto are deciding they would rather just stay home than risk getting sick with COVID-19 while on vacation.
Emile Habib, who works with Sun-Ray Travel in Scarborough, which specializes in group trips to many Middle Eastern and European destinations, said that in the past few days more customers have been calling to see if they can cancel their trips.
“We've done a lot of expensive packages to Italy and people are calling and saying ‘we don’t want to go,’” Habib told CTV News Toronto.
“We see a lot of reluctance to go to even safe destinations like the Caribbean, on cruises or even to Florida.”
He said many people are reluctant to travel even to places where the Canadian government has not issued travel warnings.
More people who have decided to go ahead and book a trip are also purchasing travel insurance, but it's not entirely clear if people will get their money back if they decide not to travel because of the virus.
Habib said there are many types of insurance plans so it will depend exactly on which one was purchased. There are also different rules and regulations when it comes to cancelling a trip.
“People want a guarantee they will not lose money, but it's really hard to guarantee that,” he said.
People might be able to get refund depending on the travel insurance policy and if the travel was arranged before the confirmed outbreak and/or the person travelling had a pre-existing health condition, according to some travel specialists.
Experts say airline, cruise and convention businesses are at risk of losing billions of dollars due to COVID-19 as people get more worried about air and ship travel, and as major conferences are canceled.
Following the SARS outbreak in Canada, not only did Canadians stay home but so did many visitors to Canada. It’s estimated there was a 20 per cent decline in tourists in the year following the SARS outbreak.
