Terms and conditions

These additional and special conditions supplement the General Terms and Conditions for Package Travel, which have been agreed on between the Association of Finnish Travel Agents and the Finnish Consumer Ombudsman. These additional and specific conditions have been drafted taking into account the mandatory provisions of the Package Travel and Combined Travel Directive (EU 2015/2302) and the Act on Combined Travel Services (901/2017/www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/2017/20170901). 

Due to the special nature of our trips, exceptional accommodation and travel programme conditions and the special conditions of the destinations, we apply cancellation, amendment and transfer conditions that differ from those set out in sections 4.1 to 4.3 and 7 of the General Terms and Conditions for Package Travel; regardless of the reason for cancellation, amendment or transfer. Once a trip has been booked and paid for, it cannot normally be cancelled, changed or transferred to another person free of charge. 

SCOPE 

Unless otherwise stated in the itinerary or contract, travel packages are trips that follow pre-planned itineraries and are undertaken as a group by the organiser. A minimum number of participants per trip is required for the trips to take place. The organiser reserves the right to cancel a trip or series of trips if the minimum number of participants is not reached. 

If there is no specific mentions, trips involve light physical activities and to participate and complete the trip safely, you must have unimpeded mobility and be in good physical and mental health and in normal general condition. Persons with severe disabilities, visual or hearing impairments, cardiac, musculoskeletal or respiratory conditions or other conditions of reduced health should have their eligibility assessed by a healthcare professional and, if necessary, consult the organiser before booking a trip. For safety reasons, people with dementia or severe memory problems cannot travel without a personal assistant. 

PACKAGE TRAVEL CONTRACT AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR PERFORMANCE OF THE CONTRACT 

Insurance cover, adequate travel and luggage insurance, limits on compensation and organiser’s liability  

Trips do not include travel insurance or cancellation insurance, nor luggage insurance. We advise the travellers to take out adequate travel insurance at the time of booking, including cancellation insurance in the event of a serious illness or death of yourself, a close relative or a travelling companion (name on the insurance). We also advise you to check the cancellation cover clause of the policy and any limitation on the amount of compensation in this situation, especially in the case of annual insurance or insurance linked to a payment card. Some policies have a limited amount of cover, which may result in an increase in the traveller’s own liability (e.g. 25% of cancellation costs are the responsibility of the insurer and 75% the responsibility of the insured).  

We also advise travellers to take out adequate travel insurance cover for their luggage in case of a loss, delay, or damage. Travel documents, means of payment, personal medicines and other particularly valuable or essential items must be carried under the traveller’s own control throughout the trip.  

The organiser is not liable for damages caused by force majeure, strikes, natural disasters, terrorism, or similar situations. The organiser is also not liable for any damage to travellers or luggage.  

When booking a trip, travellers must provide their name in exactly the same format and order as it appears on their passport used for the trip. Tickets and travel documents to be reissued will be subject to an office fee of €50 per traveller and charges levied by the service provider. If the airline’s rules do not allow you to change your name, you will also be charged the full price of the ticket.  

If the traveller has a physical or sensory disability or other disability/illness that may affect the accessibility of the trip or the performance of the trip as agreed on, the traveller must inform the organiser and agree on their participation before making the reservation. Travellers needing an assistant must declare their need before booking and negotiate their possibility to participate on the trip on a case-by-case basis. The organiser’s staff cannot act as a personal assistant for an individual traveller during a trip, but the traveller must provide and pay for a personal assistant themselves. For airports, ports and railway stations in the EU, assistance is available by advance request. 

LUGGAGE

The amount of free luggage varies between airlines and routes. On scheduled flights, overweight charges will be subject to International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) and/or airline regulations and charges.  

PASSPORTS AND VISAS

A valid passport is required for all our trips. Every traveller, including children, must have their own personal passport. Most countries require passports to be machine-readable and valid for 6 months after the travel period. Travellers should check the validity and condition of their passport.

The organiser is not liable for any damage caused to the traveller if their trip is prevented or interrupted due to incomplete travel documents, an expired or broken passport, or a visa refusal. The organiser is not responsible for any voluntary insurance required by the traveller during the trip, and the traveller is responsible for their own insurance cover and its extent, e.g. cancellation cover. The organiser shall instruct the traveller to obtain sufficient insurance to cover accidents and property damage as well as cancellations.  

CONCLUSION OF THE CONTRACT AND PAYMENT OF THE PRICE 

It is the traveller’s responsibility to check the confirmation and report any errors or omissions before making the payment. A travel contract is concluded when the traveller, after booking a trip, pays, at least, the advance payment specified by the organiser. 

When booking a trip, a booking fee of 4000RM is payable, unless otherwise stated at the time of booking. The booking fee is paid at the time of booking.
182 days before the beginning of the trip 50% of the remaining balance is payable.
The final payment will be made no later than 60 days before the start of the trip, unless otherwise stated at the time of booking. If the trip is booked less than 60 days before the start of the trip, the full cost of the trip must be paid immediately.

For some trips, the final payment may be due earlier. The customer will be informed of this during the booking stage. The organiser has the right to cancel the booking if the traveller has not paid all or part of the price of the trip by the agreed on payment date. 

TRAVELLERS UNDER 18 YEARS OLD

A minor (under 18) travelling alone always needs written consent from a parent or guardian to enter into a travel contract. The customer is responsible for sending this consent to the organiser. The written consent of a parent or guardian is also required when a minor is travelling alone with adults other than the minor’s guardian. The organiser reserves the right to terminate the contract if one of the parties proves to be legally incapable of concluding a travel contract for any legal reason. 

THE TRAVELLER’S RIGHT TO CANCEL THE BOOKING BEFORE THE START OF THE TRIP 

Due to the special nature of our trips, we apply different cancellation conditions to our trips from the general package travel conditions. The cancellation conditions apply regardless of the reason for cancellation (including in cases of illness). 

If cancelled up to 182 days before the start of the trip, the booking fee will be retained 
If cancelled 181 - 122 days before the start of the trip, the booking fee and 50% of the remaining balance will be retained 
If cancelled 60 to 0 days before the start of the trip, 100% of the price of the trip will be retained

If the trip is priced to accommodate a party of two or more travellers in the same room or apartment and one of the party cancels the trip, the organiser is entitled to charge, in addition to the cancellation costs, the costs of an under-utilisation of the accommodation due to the cancellation. The cancelling and participating members of the party are severally and jointly liable for the payment of these costs to the organiser. Instead of the above, the organiser and the travelling party may jointly agree on a more appropriate accommodation arrangement for the travelling party, in which case the travelling party will be responsible for any additional costs.  

If the trip is not cancelled and the traveller does not arrive at the agreed on departure point at the agreed on time, or if the traveller is unable to travel because they do not have the necessary travel documents, such as a valid passport, visa, identity card, or vaccination certificate, for reasons for which the traveller is responsible, they are not entitled to a refund. 

We advise travellers to take out travel insurance with cancellation cover and to check in particular the conditions for cancellation, amendment and surrender cover, especially in the case of annual insurance or insurance linked to a payment card. 

THE TRAVELLER’S RIGHT TO CHANGE THE CONTRACT AND TRANSFER IT TO ANOTHER PERSON 

Booking changes and transferring a booking to another person 

Any changes made by the customer to the booking will be treated as cancellations and may be subject to the charges set out in the cancellation fee table. On some of our trips, you may have the option to change your return date, for example. We will always charge the actual cost of such a change to the booking, in accordance with the necessary measures, plus an administrative fee of €50 per traveller. 

If the conditions for the transfer of a travel reservation (General Terms and Conditions for Package Travel 7.2.) are met, the traveller has the right to transfer their rights under the contract to another person.  

The person to whom the travel contract is transferred must be able to obtain the same flight reservation and ticket as the transferor had. Even if there is no change of traveller, but the name or other personal data changes after the booking, participating in the travel requires obtaining the original flight reservations and tickets with the new personal data. The organisers will charge the actual cost of the transfer in accordance with the necessary measures, plus an administrative fee of €50 per traveller. 

If the trip is priced to accommodate a party of two or more travellers in the same room or apartment and one of the party changes or transfers the trip, the organiser is entitled to charge, in addition to the change and transfer costs, the costs of an under-utilisation of the accommodation due to the change or transfer. The changing or transferring and participating members of the party are severally and jointly liable for the payment of these costs to the organiser. Instead of the above, the organiser and the travelling party may jointly agree on a more appropriate accommodation arrangement for the travelling party, in which case the travelling party will be responsible for any additional costs.  

We advise travellers to take out travel insurance with cancellation cover and to check, in particular, the conditions for cancellation, amendment and surrender cover, especially in the case of annual insurance or insurance linked to a payment card. 

Name changes                                                                         

Name changes will be charged at the actual cost of the change, plus an administrative fee of €50 per traveller if the flight, ship, or train tickets have not yet been issued. The time of the ticket issuing varies according to the rules of the air, ship and train companies and the trip. If the change occurs after the ticket has been issued, the costs will be determined by the rules of the air, train and ship companies. For example, airlines have the right to impose flight, price category or season-specific restrictions on name changes to reservations. As a rule, airline regulations do not allow any changes to airline tickets after they have been issued.  

INDIVIDUAL, TAILOR-MADE GROUP AND SPECIAL TRIPS 

Terms of payment, cancellation, amendment and transfer 

The conditions for special trips tailored to individual groups are published in the relevant travel programmes. We apply special conditions to these trips because the costs of cancellation, for example, would be borne entirely or mainly by the organiser because the trip cannot be sold to another person due to the individuality, special nature of the trip or other reason of similar importance.  

PRICE CHANGES 

Price changes and final price of the trip  

The prices of the trips are given without obligation before the travel contract is concluded and are based on the tariffs and exchange rates in force on the date of the pricing indicated in the trip description or conditions. We reserve the right to change prices in accordance with General Terms and Conditions for Package Travel section 8. The final price may be affected by changes in tariffs or fuel and exchange rates. The trips are made on international scheduled flights and, due to the special nature of the mode of transport, the organiser has the right to increase prices after the contract has been concluded in the event of changes in air fares, fuel taxes, or air taxes set by the authorities. In case of any changes, we will send you a new final invoice. The pricing date for each trip is indicated in the trip programme.  

Additional charges due to official regulations
If the authorities in Finland, the originating countries, or countries on the route impose regulations or instructions affecting the execution of the trip after the travel contract has been concluded, the organiser will inform the travellers of the regulations without delay. The official regulations are not considered as changes made by the organiser and do not entitle the traveller to cancel the travel package contract, nor do they entitle the traveller to a cancellation free of charge, if the organiser is still able to carry out the trip in accordance with these conditions. If the traveller is prevented from travelling for reasons imposed by the authorities, the situation will be interpreted as a cancellation by the traveller and the cancellation and amendment conditions of the tour operator for the trip in question will apply. Any additional costs caused by the official regulations will be borne by the traveller as such and the organiser will not be liable for these costs. If the organiser charges an additional cost as part of the price of the travel package, the provisions of clauses 8.1b, 8.2 and 8.3 for price change situations will apply. 

CHANGES TO THE TRAVEL PACKAGE CONTRACT MADE BY THE ORGANISER 

Change of tour guide or translator

If our representative suddenly falls ill or is otherwise unable to work while travelling, we reserve the right to use an English-language representative until we can find a Chinese-language replacement. We also reserve the right to replace the tour leader or expert appointed in advance in the travel programme with another qualified person in case of an emergency. The changing to another representative does not entitle the traveller to a price reduction, compensation, or cancellation without charge. 

The impact of official regulations on the travel contract  

If the authorities in Finland, the originating countries, or countries on the route impose regulations or instructions affecting the execution of the trip after the travel contract has been concluded, the organiser will inform the travellers of the regulations without delay. The official regulations are not considered to be changes made by the organiser and do not entitle the traveller to cancel the travel package contract, nor do they entitle the traveller to a cancellation free of charge, if the organiser is still able to carry out the trip in accordance with these conditions. If the traveller is prevented from travelling for reasons imposed by the authorities, the situation will be interpreted as a cancellation by the traveller and the cancellation and amendment conditions of the tour operator for the trip in question will apply. Any additional costs caused by the official regulations will be borne by the traveller, as such, and the organiser will not be liable for these costs.  

THE ORGANISER’S RIGHT TO CANCEL AND INTERRUPT THE TRIP 

Implementation of additional travel services and excursions  

Additional services and excursions also often need a sufficient number of participants to be carried out. The organiser reserves the right to cancel additional services and excursions where the minimum number of participants is not met. The travellers will be notified of the realisation or cancellation of these services as soon as possible, often during the trip. For cancelled or unrealised services, any fees paid by the traveller will be refunded. Cancellation of an excursion booked as an additional service does not entitle the traveller to a price reduction or compensation in excess of the price of the excursion. 

ERRORS AND COMPLAINTS 

Some transport arrangements may be unstable, so travellers should be prepared for possible changes in transport timetables or arrangements. If the change is due to force majeure (unavoidable and exceptional circumstances), the organiser will assess the error on a case-by-case basis.  

The traveller must inform the organiser without undue delay of any shortcoming or error that occurs during the trip.  

ERROR CORRECTION 

The traveller must always first and without delay inform the organiser of any errors, shortcomings or problems. The traveller can only take the initiative to correct the error after agreeing with the organiser. 

THE PROVISION OF ALTERNATIVE SERVICES DURING THE TRIP 

If a significant part of the travel services cannot be provided as agreed on during the trip, the organiser must offer, at no extra cost to the traveller, suitable alternative arrangements for the continuation of the travel package which are, as far as possible, of at least the same quality as the agreed on travel services. The obligation to provide alternative arrangements also applies in cases where the traveller’s return to the place of departure is not as agreed.  

The organiser must grant the traveller an appropriate price reduction if the travel package with alternative arrangements is of inferior quality to the travel package under the travel package contract.  

The traveller may refuse alternative arrangements that are offered if they are not comparable to those agreed on in the travel package contract or if the price reduction offered does not correspond to the significance of the error. If the traveller justifiably refuses alternative arrangements or if it is not possible to offer them, the traveller is entitled to an appropriate price reduction and compensation even if they do not cancel the contract. If the travel package includes transport for the traveller, the organiser must, without undue delay, provide the traveller with return transport in accordance with the contract, at no extra cost to the traveller. 

If a traveller refuses alternative arrangements without the above-mentioned acceptable reasons, they are not entitled to compensation or a price reduction.  

GENERAL 

Paid additional services for events 

Unless otherwise stated, additional services, such as event tickets or registrations and other additional services, ordered separately at the customer’s request are not part of the travel package contract.  

Individual services are ordered at the traveller’s request and booked on an individual basis. In addition to the price of the stand-alone service, a fee will be charged in accordance with the organiser’s service price list. Bookings become binding after confirmation, and the booking, payment, amendment and cancellation terms enter into force at the time of confirmation. Due to the specific nature of the specialised services, the conditions for amendments and cancellation are very strict.

If the traveller wishes to change or cancel their booking, they must contact the organiser’s customer service without delay. Change and cancellation costs are determined in accordance with the booking, payment, amendment, and cancellation terms of additional services, and the traveller is charged the actual costs caused by the change or cancellation as well as the administrative fees in accordance with the organiser’s price list. Entrance tickets are generally unchangeable, and their cancellation fee is the price of the entrance ticket. 

Event cancellations and transfers 

The organiser is not liable for cancellations, changes in event arrangements, changes in time or place or errors in the event programme, nor for any damage or costs caused to customers by the above-mentioned defects. In the event of cancellation or rescheduling of events, the booking, payment, amendment, and cancellation conditions of the additional event service shall apply. 

Cancellation or rescheduling of an event does not entitle you to a no-cost cancellation or rescheduling of the travel package contract. If the traveller wishes to cancel or reschedule a trip due to the cancellation or rescheduling of an event, the actual costs of a cancellation or rescheduling will be charged, plus an administrative fee of €50 per traveller in accordance with the organiser’s service price list. 

Hotels 

According to international practice, hotel rooms are usually made available by 3.00 pm on the day of arrival and checked out by 12.00 pm on the day of departure. For early arrivals, the travel programme will indicate if rooms are available before the official check-in time. Breakfast and dinner provided each day in Finland unless otherwise stated. Most hotels require a valid international credit card at check-in to guarantee payment for any additional services.

Airline overbooking situations 

If a traveller voluntarily accepts the compensation and re-routing offered by an airline – as required by Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – in the event of an overbooking, and thus leaves the organiser’s group, this is interpreted as a unilateral withdrawal of the traveller from the travel package contract with the organiser. In this case, the organiser’s legal responsibility ceases and the traveller accepts responsibility for the rest of the trip. No refunds will be made for unused services. 

Deductions on compensations received under other legislation 

Any price reduction given or compensation paid to a traveller pursuant to European Union laws governing the rights of travellers or international conventions will be deducted from any compensation payable pursuant to the General Terms and Conditions of Package Travel and these terms and conditions. The traveller has a duty to declare any compensation that they have received because of breaches of the package travel contract from other parties to the organiser. 

Data protection 

Personal data provided for the purpose of the trip will be transferred to partners and authorities relevant for the execution and booking of the trip, both within and outside the EU/EEA. The principles of EU data protection law apply to the processing of data. Under the EU Commission’s decision, airlines are obliged to grant the immigration and security authorities of several countries (e.g. USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia, and EU countries) access to each traveller’s booking and flight details. The PNR data to be transferred consists of several elements, e.g. the name of the travel agency, and the name and contact details of the traveller. The data is used for security purposes. 

Since brochures from different countries and service providers’ websites may contain inaccuracies or errors, the organiser is only responsible for the content of the brochures, websites and programmes that it produces. The organiser reserves the right to change the trip and brochure information and the contractual conditions before the travel contract is concluded. We are not responsible for any printing or typographical errors. 

Valid information can be checked on our website.