Can Agents Help Clients Decide To Travel?

This week, TraveLaw Online’s Doug Crozier and Tim Law of Heifetz, Crozier, Law respond to a question from a reader that follows up on a recent question about whether agents can help their clients make the decision to travel.

Q: Your June 3 piece talked about making the clients decide whether or not to travel again, and to avoid making that decision for them.  Can we help them to make that decision?  If so, how?

A: You can indeed assist them, by referring them to information that they might want to take into account as they make their decision.

That earlier Q & A — https://www.travelpress.com/is-it-safe-to-travel/#.XuoJbWpKiuU —  contained links to some such resources.  In addition, you can suggest that they refer to a pair of recently-introduced interactive maps that apply to international travel.  Both are from credible sources and so one ought to assume they are up-to-date and reasonably accurate.

IATA’s map is at https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/international-travel-document-news/1580226297.htm.  Click on a country and you will find factual information about COVID-related travel restrictions and rules that apply there.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta shows similar information at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/map-and-travel-notices.html.  It seems to (1) be kept a bit more up-to-date than IATA’s map, (2) contains more factual information than IATA’s, and (3) also contain editorial recommendations regarding travel to the country that has been clicked, which IATA’s does not.

Both sites contain disclaimers of liability.  So should you, if referring a customer to either resource.

TraveLaw Online appears in Press Today every Wednesday and if you have a question, you can contact Crozier or Law at [email protected] or connect with Bob Mowat at Canadian Travel Press/Baxter Media at [email protected].

Heifetz, Crozier, Law is a Toronto law firm that has for years represented all aspects of the Canadian travel industry. The lawyers at HCL also maintain a non-travel practice, covering litigation, real estate, Wills, corporate/commercial matters, etc. To contact HCL, e-mail [email protected].