Booking Conditions

Into Japan Specialist Tours Booking Conditions

Please read the following conditions carefully. These Booking Conditions, together with our Privacy Policy any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with us.

Into Japan Specialist Tours is a trading name of Oxford International Exchange Ltd. whose registered offices are at Boston House, Downsview Road, Wantage, England, OX12 9FF and company registration number is 03819860.

In these conditions Into Japan Specialist Tours is referred to as ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’. The person or persons named on the booking form are referred to as ‘you’ and ‘your’. This contract and all matters arising out of it are governed by the laws of England and Wales only. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. You may however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so.

By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that:

he/she has read these Booking Conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them;

he/she consents to our use of personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and is authorised on behalf of all persons named on the booking to disclose their personal details to us, including where applicable special categories of data (such as information on health conditions or disabilities and dietary requirements);

he/she is over 18 years of age and resident in the United Kingdom and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services;

he/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking.

1. Holiday Payment

A booking is made with us when you pay us a deposit (or full payment if you are booking within 60 days of departure) and we issue you with a booking confirmation. We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a booking confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking and will be sent to you. You must check all details on the confirmation and contact us immediately if there is anything you believe to be

The confirmation details will also state what balance is due on the holiday and when payment is to be made. The balance will be due 60 days before the departure date and if this is not received we reserve the right to cancel your booking and charge cancellation fees as detailed below. It is our company policy to send a reminder at this time but it is still your responsibility to pay the balance even if you do not receive the reminder. If for any reason you have informed us of an exceptional reason for delay in payment and we choose to retain your booking, you will be liable for the higher cancellation fees if you do not pay the balance as stated or cancel at a later

If your confirmed arrangements include a flight, we will also issue you with an ATOL Certificate. Upon receipt, if you believe that any details on the ATOL Certificate or booking confirmation or any other document are wrong you must advise us immediately as changes can not be made later and it may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out (five days for tickets).

Any money paid to an authorised agent of ours in respect of a booking covered by our ATOL is held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, but subject to the agent’s obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail financially. If we do fail financially, any money held at that time by the agent or subsequently accepted from the consumer by the agent, is and continues to be held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us.

2. Insurance

It is required that every person named on the booking form is fully covered by travel insurance for the purposes of this holiday. We highly recommend that you take out travel insurance that will cover cancellation costs of your holiday due to unforeseen circumstances. We reserve the right to ask for proof of your insurance cover. If you choose to travel without adequate insurance cover, we will not be liable for any losses howsoever arising, in respect of which insurance cover would otherwise have been available.

3. Accuracy

We reserve the right to change the prices, services or other particulars contained in this brochure or any quotation at any time before we enter into a contract with you. We will notify you of any change before entering a contract. Additional tour information, hotel information and schedules can be taken to be part of the contract. Note that hotel classifications are subjective as there is no international standard. You must check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking and on your booking confirmation.

4. Pricing

We reserve the right to amend the price of unsold holidays at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed holidays. We also reserve the right to increase the price of confirmed holidays solely to allow for increases which are a direct consequence of changes in:

the exchange rates relevant to the package;

the level of taxes or fees chargeable for services applicable to the holiday imposed by third parties not directly involved in the performance of the holiday, including tourist taxes, landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; and

the price of the carriage of passengers resulting from the cost of fuel or other power sources.

You will only be asked to pay a surcharge in exceptional circumstances. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 8% of the price of your confirmed holiday (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 7 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy.

Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, then any refund due will be paid to you less an administrative fee of £10. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

If there are any surcharges to be made you will be notified at least 60 days before departure. We will not make any additional charges whatsoever after that.

5. If you change your holiday

If you wish to request any changes to your booking after we have issued confirmation, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the first named person on the booking.  Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to an administration and/or cancellation fees that arise from the changes, including any costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers in making this change. We will do our best to accommodate your changes and we will do our best to avoid any additional costs. Please note that misspelled names can require flights to be rebooked and up to 100% cancellation fees applied to the original booking. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable in accordance with clause

Transfer of Booking:

If you or any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else, subject to the following conditions:

that person is introduced by you and satisfies all the conditions applicable to the holiday;

we are notified not less than 7 days before departure;

you pay any outstanding balance payment, an amendment fee of £50 per person transferring, as well as any additional fees, charges or other costs arising from the transfer; and

the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us.

You and the transferee remain jointly and severally liable for payment of all sums. If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out in clause 7 will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not travelling or for unused services.                            

Important Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended or transferred after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.

6. Alterations or cancellations by you after departure

If you decide to return home early, we are unable to make any refunds for unused portions of the holiday. If you cut short your holiday and return home early in circumstances where you have no reasonable cause for complaint about the standard of accommodation and services provided, we will not offer you any refund for that part of your holiday not completed, or be liable for any associated costs you may incur. We strongly recommend that adequate travel insurance is taken out that will cover all possible unforeseeable situations. If changes requested by you result in additional charges then these charges will passed on to you.

7. If you cancel your holiday before departure

If any person named on the booking form cancels their holiday the cancellation fees below will apply. Cancellation can only be accepted when received in writing. The date this cancellation is received will be taken to be the cancellation date. The cancellation costs can be covered in many cases by appropriate travel insurance. Cancellation charge per person based on number of days before departure when written confirmation of cancellation is received at our office.

Should one or more member of a party cancel, it may increase the per person holiday price of those still travelling and you will be liable to pay this increase.

Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, you will have to pay the cancellation charges as follows:

More than 60 days: Deposit only

59-43 days: 30%

42-29 days: 60%

28-8 days: 80%

Within 7 days: 100%

Please note that amendments charges are not refundable in any circumstances.

Important Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration or cancellation could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements in addition to the charge above.

If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

Where possible, we will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us.

Cancellation by You due to Unavoidable & Extraordinary Circumstances:

You may terminate the package travel contract at any time before the start of the package without paying a cancellation charge in the event of “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity which will significantly affect the performance of the package or carriage to your holiday destination. In these circumstances, we shall provide you with a full refund of the monies you have paid but we will not be liable to pay you any additional compensation. In order to rely on this clause you must be able to show that, based on the information available at the time of cancellation, there was no longer a reasonable possibility of your holiday going ahead (either at all or without being significantly affected).

For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” may include warfare, other serious security problems such as terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination, or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which significantly affect travel to the travel destination as agreed in the package travel contract.

This clause 7 outlines the rights you have if you wish to cancel your booking. Please note that there is no automatic statutory right of cancellation under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 .

8. If we change or cancel your holiday

Changes

All aspects of your holiday are normally arranged many months in advance but occasionally changes are unavoidable as we rely on our suppliers in Japan. We reserve the right to do so at any time.

If we make a minor change to your holiday, we will make reasonable efforts to inform you or your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure but we will have no liability to you. Minor changes include change in order of schedule (without changing the contents), change to named hotel (without decreasing the standard or changing the type of accommodation), changing mode of transport (without changing the main schedule). The flight details shown on original booking confirmation are subject to change.

Occasionally we may have to make a major change to your confirmed arrangements. Major changes include change to contents of schedule (such as location change), change to flight departure or arrival date, decrease in standard or change of type of accommodation.

Cancellation

We will not cancel your holiday less than 60 days before departure, except if you have not complied with the booking conditions as described, including failure to pay the final balance, or for reasons of ‘force-majeure’ as described below.

Most holidays will give a minimum number and a maximum number of persons on the tour and we will let you know if this is the case at the time of booking. If the minimum number of persons for a tour is not reached 60 days before departure we reserve the right to cancel the holiday. We may offer you alternative arrangements and you may choose to accept these arrangements if you wish.

If we have to make a major change or cancel your holiday we will inform you as soon as possible, and if there is time to do so before departure we will offer you a choice of:

(for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements; or

having a refund of all monies paid; or

if available and where we offer one, accepting an offer of an alternative holiday (we will refund any price difference if the alternative is of a lower value).

You will have 10 days from the date we inform you to confirm your decision. If we do not hear from you within 10 days, we will contact you again to request notification of your choice. If you fail to respond again, we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements.

If a major change is made to the holiday after departure we will do our best to make alternative arrangements for you during the tour, at no extra charge. Where those alternative arrangements are of a lower standard, provide you with an appropriate price reduction

Compensation

In addition to a full refund of all monies paid by you, we will pay you reasonable compensation in the following circumstances:

If, where we make a major change, you do not accept the changed arrangements and cancel your booking;

If we cancel your booking and no alternative arrangements are available and/or we do not offer one.

The compensation that we offer does not exclude you from claiming more if you are entitled to do so.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: We will not pay you compensation in the following circumstances:

where we make a minor change;

where we make a significant change or cancel your arrangements more than 60 days before departure;

where we make a significant change and you accept those changed arrangements or you accept an offer of alternative travel arrangements;

where we have to cancel your arrangements as a result of your failure to make full payment on time;

where the change or cancellation by us arises out of alterations to the confirmed booking requested by you;

where we are forced to cancel or change your arrangements due to Force Majeure (please see clause 9).

9. Force Majeure

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions we will not be liable or pay you compensation if our contractual obligations to you are affected by “Force Majeure”. For the purposes of these Booking Conditions, Force Majeure means any event beyond our or our supplier’s control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Examples include warfare and acts of terrorism (and threat thereof), civil strife, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely to the travel destination or remain at the travel destination, the act of any government or other national or local authority including port or river authorities, industrial dispute, labour strikes, lock closure, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, chemical or biological disaster, unavoidable technical problems with transport and all similar events outside our or the supplier(s) concerned’s control.

10. Our responsibilities

1. We will accept responsibility for the arrangements we agree to provide or arrange for you as an “organiser” under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, as set out below and as such, we are responsible for the proper provision of the travel services specifically included in your package, as set out in your confirmation invoice and the information we provided to you regarding the services prior to booking. Please note that we shall not be responsible for any additional services provided to you, whether provided by the travel service providers or otherwise, which are not set out in your confirmation invoice and the information we provided to you regarding the services prior to booking.

2. We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any personal injury or death unless you are able to prove that it was caused by our negligence or the negligence of our suppliers.

3. We will not be responsible or pay you compensation for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description if it results from:

– the acts and/or omissions of the person affected; or

– the acts and/or omissions of a third party unconnected with the provision of the services contracted for and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

– Force Majeure (as defined in clause 9).

4. We limit the amount of compensation we may have to pay you if we are found liable under this clause:

Loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions and money: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is an amount equivalent to the excess on your insurance policy which applies to this type of loss per person in total because you are required to have adequate insurance in place to cover any losses of this kind.

Claims not falling under (a) above and which don’t involve injury, illness or death: the maximum amount we will have to pay you in respect of these claims is up to three times the price paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you or your party has not received any benefit at all from your booking.

Claims in respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, or any stay in a hotel:

– The extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Warsaw/Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to hotel arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices. Please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey. When arranging transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those ‘Conditions of Carriage’. You acknowledge that all of the terms and conditions contained in those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those ‘Conditions of Carriage’ shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract.

– In any circumstances in which a carrier is liable to you by virtue of EC 261/2004 (denied boarding and flight disruption), any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier.

– When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question.

5. Subject to these Booking Conditions, if we or our suppliers negligently perform or arrange those services set out in the confirmation invoice and the information we provided to you regarding the services prior to booking and we don’t remedy or resolve your complaint within a reasonable period of time, and this has affected the enjoyment of your package holiday you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction or compensation or both. You must inform us without undue delay of any failure to perform or improper performance of the travel services included in this package. The level of any such price reduction or compensation in respect of any claim for damages or compensation whatsoever will be calculated taking into consideration all relevant factors such as but not limited to: following the complaints procedure as described in these Booking Conditions and the extent to which ours or our employees’ or suppliers’ negligence affected the overall enjoyment of your holiday. Please note that it is your responsibility to show that we or our supplier(s) have been negligent if you wish to make a claim against us

6. It is a condition of our acceptance of liability under this clause that you notify any claim to us and our supplier(s) strictly in accordance with the complaints procedure set out in these conditions.

7. Where any payment is made, the person(s) receiving it (and their parent or guardian if under 18 years) must also assign to us or our insurers any rights they may have to pursue any third party and must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require.

8. Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss or expense or other sum(s) of any description:

– which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you;

– relate to any business;

– indirect or consequential loss of any kind.

9. We will not accept responsibility for services or facilities which do not form part of our agreement or where they are not advertised in our brochure. For example any excursion you book whilst away, or any service or facility which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you.

10. Where it is impossible for you to return to your departure point as per the agreed return date of your package, due to “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances”, we shall provide you with any necessary accommodation (where possible, of a comparable standard) for a period not exceeding three nights per person. Please note that the 3 night cap does not apply to persons with reduced mobility, pregnant women or unaccompanied minors, nor to persons needing specific medical assistance, provided we have been notified of these particular needs at least 48 hours before the start of your holiday. For the purposes of this clause, “unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances” may include warfare, acts of terrorism, significant risks to human health such as the outbreak of serious disease at the travel destination or natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or weather conditions which make it impossible to travel safely back to your departure point.

11. Excursions

Excursions or other tours that you may choose to book or pay for whilst you are on holiday are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any excursion or other tour that you book, your contract will be with the operator of the excursion or tour and not with us. We are not responsible for the provision of the excursion or tour or for anything that happens during the course of its provision by the operator.

12. Your responsibilities

All our customers are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any hotel manager or any other person in authority, your behaviour or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger or annoyance to any other customers or any third party, or damage to property, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we reserve the right to terminate your booking with us immediately. In the event of such termination our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other arrangements immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other arrangements will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you.

We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behaviour of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us.

13. Entry Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements, Safety & Health Formalities

It is your responsibility to check and fulfil the entry, passport, visa, immigration requirements, safety and health formalities applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (‘FCDO’) and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements and the safety of the countries and areas in which you will be travelling to, do change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure in order to make your decisions accordingly.

Such information which you may need to check includes (but is not limited to) passport requirements including how valid your passport must be after return date, whether your passport must be machine readable or which visas/waivers may be required for entry.

 Non British passport holders, including EU nationals, should obtain up to date advice on entry, passport, visa, health and immigration requirements   from the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination or country(ies) through which you are travelling,

We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel, or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any entry, passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any entry passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities.

14. Delays, Missed Transport Arrangements and other Travel Information

If you or any member of your party misses your flight or other transport arrangement, it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over 3 hours for any reason, you must contact us and the airline or other transport supplier concerned immediately.                    

Under UK Law, you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from the airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at UK airports and will also be available from airlines. If the airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Civil Aviation Authority at www.caa.co.uk/passengers. Reimbursement in such cases is the responsibility of the airline and will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday price from us. If, for any reason, you do not claim against the airline and make a claim for compensation from us, you must, at the time of payment of any compensation to you, make a complete assignment to us of the rights you have against the airline in relation to the claim that gives rise to that compensation payment. A delay or cancellation  to your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight.  

We cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in clause 9 of these Booking Conditions (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) on any flight who, for example, fails to check in or board on time). 

The carrier(s), flight timings and types of aircraft shown in this brochure or on our website and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. We shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of it.  The latest flight timings will be shown on your tickets which will be despatched to you approximately two weeks before departure.  You should check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times.  If flight times change after tickets have been dispatched we will contact you as soon as we can to let you know.

Please note the existence of a “UK Air Safety list” (available for inspection at https://www.caa.co.uk/commercial-industry/airlines/licensing/requirements-and-guidance/third-country-operator-certificates/) detailing air carriers that are subject to an operating ban within the UK.

This website is our responsibility, as your tour operator. It is not issued on behalf of, and does not commit the airlines mentioned herein or any airline whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements.

15. Dealing with special requests

If you have any special request, you must advise us in writing at the time of booking. We cannot guarantee any request will be met unless we have specifically confirmed this in writing. Note we may also confirm a special request has been received without confirming that it is possible. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part unless the request has been specifically confirmed by us.  We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met.

16. Disabilities & Medical Problems

We are not a specialist disabled holiday company, but we will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your booking, please provide us with full details before you make your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we will cancel it and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details.

17. Your holiday financial protection

We provide financial security for flight-inclusive packages and ATOL protected flights]by way of  our Air Travel Organiser’s Licence number 6977, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority, Gatwick Airport South, West Sussex, RH6 0YR, UK, telephone 0333 103 6350, email: claims@caa.co.uk.

When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.  The price of our flight inclusive arrangements includes the amount of £2.50 per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in our advertised prices. Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL Scheme. ATOL protection extends primarily to customers who book and pay in the United Kingdom.

We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).

If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re- assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have Claimed under the ATOL scheme.

For  non-flight  inclusive packages you are protected by our ABTOT protection.

The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) protection:

The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Oxford International Exchange Ltd. (OIE), and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for the following:

Non-flight packages

ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if you are abroad. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with OIE.

In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company.

You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made

If you book arrangements other than package holiday from us, your monies will not be financially protected. Please ask us for further details.

18. Dealing with complaints

We make every effort to ensure that your holiday arrangements run smoothly but if you do have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier) immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact your sales consultant.

If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send formal written notice of your complaint to us at our office, ideally within 28 days of the end of your stay, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint, and will affect your rights under this contract.

If, despite our best efforts and having followed the above procedure for reporting and resolving your complaint, you feel that it has not been satisfactorily settled, we recommend that it is referred for arbitration under the ABTOT Travel Industry Arbitration Service. An Independent Arbitrator will review the documents relating to any complaint and deliver a binding decision to bring the matter to a close.

Details of this scheme are available from The Travel Industry Arbitration Service, administered by Dispute Settlement Services: 9 Savill Road, Lindfield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 2NY

or from ABTOT: 7th Floor, 69 Leadenhall Street, London, EC3A 2BG .

This scheme cannot however decide in cases where the sums claimed exceed £5000 per person or £10,000 per booking form, or for claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequence thereof.

19. Conditions of Suppliers

Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers.  Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us.  Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions.  Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from us or the supplier concerned.

20. Prompt Assistance

If, whilst you are on holiday, you find yourself in difficulty for any reason, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is appropriate in the circumstances. In particular, we will provide you with appropriate information on health services, local authorities and consular assistance, and assistance with distance communications and finding alternative travel arrangements. Where you require assistance which is not owing to any failure by us, our employees or sub-contractors we will not be liable for the costs of any alternative travel arrangements or other such assistance you require. Any supplier, airline or other transport supplier may however pay for or provide refreshments and/or appropriate accommodation and you should make a claim directly to them. Subject to the other terms of these Booking Conditions, we will not be liable for any costs, fees or charges you incur in the above circumstances, if you fail to obtain our prior authorisation before making your own travel arrangements. Furthermore, we reserve the right to charge you a fee for our assistance in the event that the difficulty is caused intentionally by you or a member of your party, or otherwise through your or your party’s negligence

21. Advance Passenger Information

A number of Governments are introducing new requirements for suppliers to provide personal information about travellers to the Authorities prior to arrivel in the destination. The data will be collected either at the at the time of booking, or after you make your booking. Where we collect this data, we will treat it in accordance with our privacy policy.

22. ABTOT

We are a Member of ABTOT, membership number 5312. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTOT’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you ABTOT’s scheme for the resolution of disputes which is approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, the details of which are set out at clause 18.

These Booking Conditions were revised in July 2026 and are valid until replaced by a later revision.

_{These Booking Conditions can be downloaded as a PDF file HERE}