This travel agency is cancelling all trips from the Netherlands to Israel until 2024

When Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, a group of 37 Dutch tourists was about to leave for Israel with travel agency TUI. Luckily, they were able to cancel the trip in time, and now TUI has cancelled all travels to Israel for the remainder of the year.

If you were planning to travel with TUI in that time period, you will get your money reimbursed. Otherwise, you can reschedule your trip free of charge, according to RTL Nieuws. 

Getting your money back

The reimbursement for trips to Israel doesn’t just apply to trips with TUI, but to all travel agencies affiliated with the General Dutch Association of Travel Companies (ANVR).

Anyone who booked a trip with the agencies that fall within the association will get their money back. 

READ MORE | The Netherlands will evacuate almost 200 Dutch citizens from Israel 

In cases like these, travel agencies make use of the so-called “disaster fund”. This fund allows them to be insured in the event of an emergency.

Code orange: only travel if necessary

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued code orange travel advice. This urges people to avoid travelling to Israel as much as possible and to only go there if it’s really necessary.

READ MORE | Dutch Prime Minister expresses support for Israel, the Netherlands reacts in shock

Because of the code orange, it’s not in the hands of travel agencies to determine whether they can travel or not — and the ANVR can’t say when trips to Israel can take place again.

That being said, both the ANVR and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs do provide regular updates on their social media.

If the advice changes from code orange to code yellow, agencies will be able to decide for themselves whether or not they choose to travel.

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