March, 2020-May, 2020 Group Tours
Because of government and airline-imposed travel limitations and changes that are evolving daily, we have been forced to temporarily suspend operation of ALL tours from now until June 1, 2020 at which time we believe we will be in a better position to provide the experiences our clients expect and deserve.
For those tours which have been cancelled, we are working tirelessly with our suppliers (airlines, hotels, motorcoach companies, etc.) in order to obtain waivers of their normal cancellations policies in order to provide our clients with refunds and/or credit for future travel. This is a complicated process and there is not a one-fits-all approach to refunds, so please be patient as we work with our suppliers to negotiate the best possible outcome for you. Once we know more we will update our clients and travel agent/tour coordinator partners directly on a group-by-group basis. Travel expenses for our groups thru May, 2020 were for the most part already disbursed to the airlines and our partners overseas, so once refunds are authorized by them we will still have to repatriate the funds back to our accounts in the United States and potential refunds to our clients may take 4-6 weeks (or longer in exceptional cases).
If you booked airfare for your tour on your own, please contact the airline you were scheduled to fly on directly to inform them that your tour has been cancelled and determine what their refund and/or rebooking policy will be. In the event that your flights were booked through George’s International Tours we will communicate with the airline on your behalf.
We are very sorry for any inconvenience that a tour cancellation may cause you, however your safety and well-being are our number one priority and are what has guided this decision. We pray that the situation will return to normal soon and that you will be able to reschedule your pilgrimage for a future date.
June 1, 2020 and Later Group Tours
If you are booked on a tour or pilgrimage starting June 1, 2020 or later, our standard cancellation policy will remain in effect unless you have been notified otherwise. We will evaluate each tour on a case-by-case basis for those tours departing after June 1, 2020, however our hope is that the arrangements for these tours will be unaffected and will operate as planned. If it becomes apparent that a scheduled tour starting June 1, 2020 or later cannot continue as planned, our office will contact each client and/or travel agent/tour coordinator by phone and/or email to present the available options.
Oberammergau Passion Play Tours
All Oberammergau Passion Play groups throughout the year have been officially cancelled as per our previous update posted on March 20, 2020 (https://www.georgesintl.com/oberammergau-passion-play-update/). We are working on obtaining refunds for these groups from our suppliers in Europe and hope to be able to start the refund process to our clients soon.