On Wednesday April 15th, one of Canada’s largest tour operators ceased operations. Conquest Vacations has been in business for 37 years and the announcement comes as a shock. 

If you have a vacation booked with Conquest and have not travelled yet, you should call your credit card company immediately for a refund.  If that does not work and you bought cancellation insurance, then you should still be able to get reimbursed.  Finally, if you booked with a Travel Agent, you are are covered under the Travel Industry Council of Ontario’s (TICO) Compensation Fund, which all agencies contribute to for this kind of situation.  You can also get your money back from TICO if you booked with an agent and were stranded by Conquest and had to pay twice.

Need help rebooking your trip?  Contact me, I can help.

Did you know that you are protected when you book with a TICO registered Travel Agency in the province of Ontario? 

(December 8, 2008) TICO’s Board of Directors approved payment of $75,711.98 assisting 71 consumers who did not receive the travel services for which they had paid. The payments were necessitated by the closure of five travel companies including two airlines, Aloha and Zoom.

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Zoom Airlines was grounded on Thursday, as the recent spike in fuel prices was too much to handle for the popular discount airline.   Operations are suspended immediately, and all flights are cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded.

Customer funds are covered by TICO (the Travel Industry Council of Ontario) for Zoom flights booked with an Ontario Travel Agent.

HERE is the Reuters report on the story

Ten Reasons to Use a Travel Agent

1. PERSONALIZED SERVICE – Travel agents are your neighbours, and they want to build a relationship with you and learn what you want, and what you value in a travel experience

2. TIME –There is so much information out there, but where do you start. Travel agents can do the research for you and save you hours of your valuable time.

3. CONVENIENCE – Travel agents save you time and money by handling every aspect of your trip, including flights, car rentals, accommodations, activities, and even insurance.

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