Operators deserting trips to the Middle East

Agents have shown themselves willing to continue taking fam trips this fall, despite terrorist attacks in the U.S. and related challenges to their businesses. Some are even eager to take fam trips to the Middle East.

But travel to that region has been affected, both for clients and agents -- which means some trips are being canceled.

Travel Plans International in Oak Brook, Ill., canceled a 12-night agent fam to Iran that was to depart on Nov. 7.

Operations manager Linda Petrasek said this was "partly our decision" not to go to Iran at this time, and partly due to agent cancellations.

In addition, she said the tour company and the American Museum of Natural History agreed they had to cancel two trips to Iran that Travel Plans was to operate for the museum in September and October.

Similarly, two Egypt trips set for January were canceled because of high cancellation rates by clients. Petrasek said the firm's round-the-world trips include Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, but it is too early to plan new routings.

She said the tour firm hopes it can reinstate the Iran agent fam sometime in 2002.

Caravan-Serai in Seattle does not operate agent-only trips, but it invites the trade to join regular departures at a preferred rate.

According to president Rita Zawaideh, her company -- which emphasizes the Middle East and North Africa -- had scheduled 20 departures for a variety of U.S.-originating trips.

However, the last six of the year, all of which were to depart after Sept. 11, are not operating because of high cancellation rates among participants.

Zawaideh described the trips as "postponed," because she expects to put most of the clients onto their choice of some 25 departures that the firm plans to operate to various destinations in 2002.

She is offering canceling customers a partial refund of the price of their 2001 trips or a credit against a tour next year.

This brought complaints from agent Shirley Harris at Travel Mart, St. Louis. She was booked on a 16-day Iran trip that was to depart Oct. 16. She was one of three in a group of 14 who did not cancel, and she wants a 100% refund based on language appearing in the tour literature.

She did not take out travel insurance for the trip.

Zawaideh said she is attempting to get refunds on customer air tickets, but the rest of the trip money is with suppliers in Iran. She said she believes she can reschedule most customers on other trips.

When queried about Harris' complaint, she said, "I'm trying to work with everybody without going bankrupt. People have to be patient."

Caravan-Serai, which also has offices in Jordan and Syria, continues to operate year-round ground packages in Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.