COVID-19 Travel Information & FAQs
Last updated: 11 March 2020
Message from the CEO
There’s no doubt that Coronavirus has caused disruption and inconvenience to individuals and to the authorities in affected areas, but I would like to reassure travellers with a calm and rational assessment of the facts.
I acknowledge that any new health outbreak that is widely covered by the media will cause concern and I encourage you to maintain a rational perspective and continue with what you do daily and what you love to do on your holidays wherever this is feasible. I would also like to extend my empathy to our dear friends and colleagues in countries who are now managing significant disruptions as a result of this outbreak.
Uncertainty about the virus in its early weeks has bred fear, which is being heightened by the barrage of news headlines and amplified by social media. World Expeditions Travel Group has been operating adventures across the globe for 45 years and, during that time, we have experienced and overcome many adversities. We have well-developed and tested risk strategies for these very occurrences. The situation is fluid and we will be taking decisions as the circumstances will require.
We are asking that travellers do not panic. We advocate continuing with travel plans where it remains feasible to do so as we are doing with our own staff travel program. If it becomes not possible to operate your tour or you change your mind, we have drafted some amended transfer and cancellation policies that you can refer to here.
As with travel at any time, there are risks of infection from a virus. At no time are we able to guarantee you will not become ill during your travels with World Expeditions Travel Group or, indeed, in your daily life at home. Weighing up the risks of travel is a personal decision and we encourage you to investigate the facts to come to an informed decision about the risks.
According to the Director General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “everyone should know the symptoms – for most people, it starts with a fever and a dry cough, not a runny nose. Most people will have mild disease and get better without needing any special care”.
We develop robust risk strategies based on multiple sources, primarily the World Health Organisation and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT). We encourage you to
visit both websites.
It may be helpful to understand that DFAT divides all destinations into four advisory
levels being:
Level 1 Exercise normal safety precautions
Level 2 Exercise a high degree of caution
Level 3 Reconsider your need to travel
Level 4 Do not travel
With respect to COVID-19, it remains that there are very few countries for which DFAT has increased the advisory to a Level 4.
Johns Hopkins University in the US has a map with helpful facts.
We make regular updates to the travel advisory section of our own website and I
encourage you check details there. You may also like to understand DFAT travel alerts and advice further.
It's also worth remembering that a typical World Expeditions Travel Group holiday is one
in which you’ll be immersed in the natural landscape and be generally off the beaten
track, where the chance of catching any virus is far lower than in most urban
environments.
I do advise departing travellers, including staff who are travelling both now and in
the future, to take extra precautions in washing your hands regularly.
In conclusion, I would like to assure you that your safety – and that of all our
travellers – has always been at the core of everything we do.
Yours sincerely,
Sue Badyari
CEO