Belgium Extends Travel Ban Through Easter, Dealing Blow to Tourism Industry

"Bookings for the first quarter normally represent 36% of annual sales, we are at 1% this year," laments Anne-Sophie Snyers, secretary general of the Professional Union of Travel Agencies (UPAV). For the union leader, the Belgian government has not put forward any argument to justify this new postponement.

Fearing the anger of travelers, the UPAV secretary general announces that they will demand the refund of their canceled airline tickets, arguing that they are unable to reimburse them: "We have requested a loan from the State to honor these refunds, to which we are legally bound, but have still not received a response," she says.

To these problems related to poor sales and reimbursement, the issuance of vouchers whose some reimbursements have reached maturity is added. A year ago, the Belgian government had issued between March 20 and June 19, vouchers to compensate travelers whose trips had been canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These vouchers entitle the holder to a cash refund if they have not been used before the expiration date.

For more than 4 months, Belgium has been partially confined. Unlike its schools which have remained open, cafes, restaurants and performance halls have remained closed to curb the epidemic of new coronavirus variants. Thanks to the vaccination of high-risk populations by May, cafes and restaurants should be able to reopen by May.