‘Missiles are exploding over my holiday destination, but my luxury tour operator won’t refund me’

A reader has lost £3,500 after his tour operator refused to grant a refund in the wake of the Middle East crisis

A customer of a luxury tour operator is £3,500 out of pocket after failing to get a refund for his 10-day tour of Jordan.
In the past week, missiles targeted at Israel have been intercepted above Amman, the capital of Jordan, with warnings of falling debris. Emirates has also cancelled flights from Dubai to Amman due to the escalating conflict in the region.
Below, Simon Brooke explains how his predicament has unfolded, and we offer our expert analysis on the situation.
The trip sounded amazing. A 10-day guided tour of Jordan including Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea with the luxury tour operator Voyage Privé, costing around £3,500 for two people.
When we booked in April this year, we were obviously very aware of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. However, back then, the situation was relatively contained, with little impact on the rest of the Middle East. We also knew that should the situation deteriorate the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) would advise against travel to Jordan and therefore refunds and insurance procedures would be triggered.
We paid the first instalment on April 29 and the balance was taken from my credit card on September 3. As the situation in the region began to deteriorate, we became concerned. On August 5, I contacted the company to ask about cancellation and changes because of the concerns about safety. I received a statement that “if any changes or cancellations are necessary due to the security situation in the Middle East, we will inform you promptly and provide you with all the relevant details.”
On October 2, very worried now, I emailed an enquiry about a refund, explaining that we were travelling on Saturday, October 5, but got no reply. 
On October 3, Iran fired rockets over Jordan into Israel and debris fell onto Amman, where we would be staying. I managed to find a number for Voyage Privé and was told that to receive a refund I should have contacted them two weeks ago. I pointed out that this is a fast-moving situation and that things were very different back then. A representative told me that this is company policy. 
I went on to explain my concerns, but she refused to acknowledge them. The company was monitoring the situation, she said. I asked about the security arrangements on the ground for our group. What protection would we receive? The representative told me that she didn’t have any details because this was provided by their local agent. But they must have some idea, surely? 
I pointed out that according to the FCDO travel advice: “Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Jordan,” to which the representative said sharply: “You’re not listening to me,” before repeating her platitudes. 
A subsequent email confirmation from Voyage Privé claimed that the local agent has “assured us that the tour is taking place in safe areas”. And yet the FCDO website states: “Terrorism attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreign nationals – such as hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and tourist sites.” If the tour really just covers “safe areas,” we won’t be visiting any of these places, then?
Like many people we found ourselves caught between two stools – the FCDO is not advising against any travel to Jordan, a move that would almost certainly trigger a refund, and yet it’s making it clear that travel there is dangerous. How could we relax in this very tense situation? What about the anxiety it would cause our family and friends? In the end we decided we would not join the tour.
Emirates has cancelled flights to Amman and other airlines may follow out of concerns about passenger safety. It’s a shame that Voyage Privé, which claims to be a luxury brand, gives me the impression it cares so much less about the safety of its customers.
I think many readers would be similarly nervous to travel to a destination where missiles are being intercepted and blasted out of the sky. But I also suspect some readers would read your predicament and say “you’ve been told it’s safe, just go!” – clearly there are a few points to unpack here. 
The first is that, for most tour operators, if the FCDO does not formally change its travel advice, the trip will go ahead. It would take an updated warning against “non-essential” travel or against “all travel” for the trip to be cancelled. At this point, customers like yourself should be offered an alternative holiday or a full refund, as per the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
As you say, the FCDO advice page for Jordan does indeed warn against terrorist attacks in Jordan, although it is worth noting that many popular holiday spots, such as France and the USA, come with even stronger-worded warnings that “terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks” with similar notes about public areas that could be targeted. This is a longstanding piece of advice on the Jordan page and has not been updated in recent weeks.
The real tension arises because, while Jordan remains green-lit for travel (with the exception of the area within 3km of the Syrian border), the FCDO updated its advice on October 2 to warn of “falling fragments and debris in some parts of Jordan” as a result of missiles targeted at Israel being intercepted above the country. The video you sent me, via a contact who lives in Amman, of missile debris falling from the sky was distressing. If missiles being blown out of the sky is not grounds for a non-essential travel warning, then what is?
When I contacted the Foreign Office asking this very question, a spokesman said: “We constantly review our travel advice for each country or territory to ensure it includes up-to-date information and advice on the most relevant issues for British people visiting or living there.”
I contacted Voyage Privé more than 72 hours ago and still await a response regarding your predicament. I will update this article as soon as I receive a reply.
But in the meantime, one thing worth mentioning is that other reputable tour operators like Intrepid and Explore are still running tours of Jordan. Indeed, a spokesman for Explore said: “All the feedback we’re receiving on the ground is very positive in terms of customer safety and enjoyment – we’ll continue to operate tours as things stand.”
It is clear that Voyage Privé’s customer service did not meet your expectations. It sounds like more detailed information about safety procedures on the ground may have even convinced you that it was OK to travel – given the reassuring words I received from Explore, it is a shame this was not forthcoming. 
Another consideration is that your first payment was made on April 29, 16 days after Iran first fired drones and missiles into Israel on April 13. This was always going to be a holiday on the doorstep of a conflict zone (the Israeli border is around 20 miles away from Amman), although I appreciate that the geopolitical situation is more precarious now than it was in April, hence your change of heart about this trip. 
I appreciate your disappointment. It seems the crux is that you assumed the FCDO would advise against travel to Jordan if things across the border escalated as they have, or that Voyage Privé might offer some flexibility in their cancellation or rebooking terms due to the circumstances, but neither of these things have happened. I hope you are able to complete your tour of this beautiful corner of the world at some point in the future, when things are more settled in the Middle East and you feel confident to travel.