May I cancel a trip on my own initiative?

It depends on the terms tour operators, which are individual. Some tours can not be canceled. In other cases, the tour operator establishes the appropriate procedure and apply the fines. The thresholds and the amounts of these fines in most cases depend on the number of days left before the trip. On the website of the Agency this information is provided in the section "Information" for each tour.

The Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353 give you the right to notify regarding the transfer of the service to another person up to the time period specified by the contract. The Client and the person to whom the service has been transferred shall be jointly liable for payment of additional expenses related to the transfer.

Are there any benefits to cancel a trip due to tourist's illness or accident?

Some tour operators as a part of the package tour includes insurance against such events or special conditions of the contract to return a sum of money previously paid.

However, such cases are rare and they are subject to certain limitations (for example, the benefits usually relate to the sudden and acute diseases only, in most cases they do not apply or apply with sigmificant limitations to the other participants of the trip, all events must be confirmed by the documents). For examples of such terms please refer to the tours of Mouzenidis Travel and Fly Me Away on our website, in the section "Information".

In any case, you can protect yourself from the risk of cancellation expenses, if you purchase the travel insurance with respective insurance program covering the abovementioned risks. 

Can the tour operator cancel a tour or excursion due to insufficient number of participants?

The Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353 gives such rights to the tour operator, but the time period should be specified in the contract until which the tour operator shall inform the Client regarding the cancellation of the travel where a certain number of participants in the travel is required and such is not sufficient.

At the Agency's website in the section "Information" of the tours you can check whether these terms apply to the tour of your choice. The Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353 clarifies that a Client has no right to be compensated by the tourism operator for losses in these cases. 

Is there is a possibility for the price to be revised?

Yes. According to the Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353, this can be the case, if the contract provides for such right and states the procedures by which the difference in price to be calculated. The price of a service may be revised in the case if there is a change in:

• costs related to the utilisation of a means of transport (for example, the cost of fuel);
• fees, taxes or similar payments chargeable for certain services (for example, airport charges, port charges and other taxes); and
• the exchange rates specified for the relevant service.

The price specified in the contract shall not be increased later than 20 days prior to the beginning of the travel, except for the case referred to altering significantly any of the essential terms of the contract (please see the next question for the details).

What are my rights in cases where the tour operator significantly alters any significant contractual term?

According to the Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353, if prior to the provision of a service a tourism operator is constrained to alter significantly any of the essential terms of the contract (including increase of the price later than 20 days prior to the beginning of the travel), it shall notify the Client thereof without delay and enable him or her:

• to acquaint with the additional provisions of the contract and to accept them;
• to request a substitute service of equivalent or higher quality (where the tourism operator is able to provide it). The client and the tourism operator shall mutually agree regarding the procedures by which the customer shall pay (covering the difference in price) for a service of higher quality. If the service offered is of lower quality than it was intended, the tourism operator shall refund the relevant difference in price to the client; or
• to withdraw from the contract unilaterally. In such a case the tourism operator shall refund all the sum of money paid by the client, as well as documentarily certified direct expenditures of the client that have occurred due to the arrival at the place of the commencement of the service.

In what cases the tour operator is exempt from the obligation to provide the service in accordance with the contract?

The Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353 states that a tourism operator shall be liable for the provision of services in compliance with the contract, except for the cases where failure to perform or improper performance of the contract is not attributable to the tourism operator and the contract is not being fulfilled due to:

• the fault of the client;
• unforeseeable or unavoidable activity of a third party (unrelated to the provision of the services provided for in the contract);
• exceptional (unusual, unforeseeable and uncontrollable) circumstances; or
• such circumstances, which the tourism operator could not foresee or forestall, while exercising all due care.

A tourism operator and a tourism agent have a duty to provide the necessary assistance to a Client, except for the fault of the client case above. 

What are my rights if the tour operator does not provide any of the services specified in the contract or fails to provide them?

According to the Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353, if in the course of the performance of the contract the tourism operator fails to provide any of the services referred to in the contract or will not be able to provide them, the duty of the tourism operator shall be to offer an appropriate alternative service to the customer, without requesting additional payment from the customer, and to compensate the difference in price to the customer, if the price of the alternative service provided is lower than the price of the substituted service.

If in the course of a contract the tourism operator does not provide a significant part of the services referred to in the contract or will be unable to provide it and is unable to offer the alternative services referred to in Paragraph 32 of this Regulation or they are not accepted by the client, the tourism operator, upon the agreement with the client, shall provide the client, at no extra cost, with equivalent transport back to the place of departure, or to another return-point to which the client has agreed, as well as shall compensate the client for the unused or partially used service.

Do I have right to receive compensation for losses incurred as a result of non-performance or improper performance of the contract?

You are granted such rights according to the Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353, except for the following:

• the service is being cancelled within the period of time indicated in the contract due to an insufficient number of participants; or
• the service is being cancelled due to exceptional (unusual, unforeseeable and uncontrollable) circumstances or events, which could not have been foreseen or forestalled by the tourism operator, even if all due care had been exercised.

The Cabinet of Ministers' Regulations No. 353 also states if on the day of departure the client does not arrive at the specified place of departure on time or in any other way does not use the services specified in the contract due to his or her fault, he or she does not have the right to request compensation for the non-used service. The tour operator in the contract can set the additional restrictive covenants for the cases, such as an arbitrary termination of the travel or refusal of the previously paid services while traveling. 

Please note that the tour operator may include specific conditions regarding change and replacement of services in the contract.