1. RESERVATION, CONFIRMATION, DEPOSIT, BALANCE:
1.1. How to make a reservation: All bookings are to be made at the head office of Responsible Tourism Company by email. Upon confirmation of the service, an invoice will be issued to the clients/Agency by Responsible Tourism Company CO., LTD and will be sent to the clients by email or fax.
1.2. Deposit: Upon confirmation of the trip, a deposit of 30% of the total amount is required to secure the booking. The deposit may be made either via bank transfer (referred to in 2.2 of Article 2) or by credit card. Payment online via the internet (mentioned in article 2.4, paragraph 2.4)
1.3. Balance of the trip: the balance is settled 45 days before the trip. Due time for balance is before the tour starts. Otherwise, Responsible Tourism Company CO., LTD reserves the right to cancel the trip and to retain all the deposit made by clients/Agency.
In case of other negotiations due to the force majeure, Responsible Tourism Company could refund a part or all the amount of deposit.
2.PAYMENT METHODS:
2.1. Online payment via INTERNET: Clients can pay by cards via our ONEPAY secured online payment SSL. Responsible Tourism Company accepts online payments with Visa, MasterCard, Amex and JCB card. After receiving your confirmation, Responsible Tourism Company will send you by email an “invoice for online payment” where you will follow the instructions by clicking on the link. If you do not receive any confirmation of the payment gateway transaction from us after filling your card details, please do not try to redo the transaction. Contact us for confirmation of the bank transaction and the payment order.
2.2. Cash accepted: Responsible Tourism Company accepts: Euros, USD, VND. The exchange rate is based on our bank in Uganda on the payment date. (www.vietcombank.com.vn)
2.3.Bank transfer: Clients can pay by bank transfer, bank fees will be paid by the client. In this case, clients transfer to the following account:
Name of beneficiary: Responsible Tourism Company
Address of beneficiary:
Account USD:
Account EUR:
Name of bank:
Address:
Swift code:
2.4. Payment by credit cards via a POS machine.
Payment via POS machine is only possible for the settlement of the balance on arrival. Responsible Tourism Company accepts the following cards: Visa, MasterCard, Amex card, JCB, Diners club. Payment is made at the office of Responsible Tourism Company in Hanoi. Note: Payment by credit card only accepts VND. Other foreign currencies must be converted into VND according to the exchange rate of the payment date.
3. CANCELLATION POLICY
3.1. Cancellation by Client:
a) In case of cancellation for whatever reason, the client must immediately notify us, either via email or registered letter. Clients agree to pay the penalties according to the time when the request for cancellation reaches Responsible Tourism Company:
– 45 days before the trip : No Charge
– 44 – 31 days before the trip : 5% total price of the trip
– 30 – 21 days before the trip : 15% total price of the trip
– 20 – 11 days before the trip : 30% total price of the trip
– 10 – 7 days before the trip : 50% total price of the trip
– 6 – 2 days before the trip : 75% total price of the trip
– 1 – 0 day before the trip : 100% total price of the trip
These fees are used to cover the penalties caused by cancellations of various services (flights, accommodation, train…)
b) A Postponed trip is not subject to penalties, but entails the cancellation costs to clients.
c) This rule is applied to all services reserved by clients to Responsible Tourism Company. The refund will be made by bank transfer and the client must pay all the bank fees.
d) In case of impediment, the clients can nominate a person who will participate in the trip under the same conditions. This person will stand surely for the price of the trip and the service providers involved in his/her journey (hotels, airlines, railways…) accept this change.
e) In case of cancellation by clients for the reasons of force majeure (illness, death, accidents, natural disaster…) we will do everything possible in the negotiation with providers (hotels, transfers, flights, train…) in order to minimize the cancellation fees. In this case, Responsible Tourism Company will reimburse you all that remains. As a travel agency with a human dimension, we understand that cancellation of the trip is already a mental loss for clients.
3.2. Cancellation by Responsible Tourism Company CO., LTD:
The contract provided by Responsible Tourism Company may be canceled by us in case of force majeure. These are external, unpredictable, unavoidable and unforeseeable events that prevent Responsible Tourism Company from carrying out the journey such as war or threat of war, natural disaster, fire and any terrorist activity, weather, epidemic, or anything similar. In case of cancellation by Responsible Tourism Company, clients will receive a full refund of the trip. During an interruption, the Responsible Tourism Company will reimburse the client for unused services. Claims for damage are excluded.
4. MODIFICATION :
4.1. Modification by client:
a) Clients can request to modify their trip anytime with payment to Responsible Tourism Company of the costs possibly generated by its modification. Responsible Tourism Company is obliged to respond to the modification request with the utmost diligence within the limit of the availability of required services.
b) The Postponement of arrival date is considered as a modification. Reducing the number of participants is not considered a change. The cancellation policy will be applied for those who unsubscribe as well as a re-quote of the rate for the remaining participants.
4.2. Modification by Responsible Tourism Company:
Responsible Tourism Company reserves the right to modify the services included in the definitive travel program in the following cases:
a) The modification is justified following an event of force majeure (as mentioned in section 4.2). In this case, the change may result in additional charges to the clients or a refund from Responsible Tourism Company.
b) The change is essential to ensure the client’s safety and/or the quality of the trip. In these cases, any additional costs incurred will be charged by the Responsible Tourism Company.
5. INTERRUPTION AND UNUSED SERVICES:
Responsible Tourism Company does not reimburse the services included in the program which are not used by clients. However, if the trip is interrupted for any reasons related to the health of clients, Responsible Tourism Company is committed to doing its best to obtain a partial or total refund of canceled services from service providers.
6. CLIENTS OBLIGATION AND INSURANCE:
6.1. Before the trip, it is the client’s responsibility to ensure that they meet the requirements in terms of:
– Passport: (validity of 6 months after return, at least 2 blank pages, children, etc.)
– Physical condition, vaccinations, preventive treatments…
– Visas (required for Uganda)
Responsible Tourism Company could assist clients in the process of obtaining a Uganda visa (on request)
6.2. Insurance: Anyone who participates in a trip organized by Responsible Tourism Company must subscribe to international travel insurance covering at least medical expenses and repatriation.
This insurance is in principle offered by the ticket agencies to the clients during the purchase of international air tickets. The insurer’s contact information and the clients’ insurance policy number must be sent to the Responsible Tourism Company before the trip.
6.3. During the trip, clients must respect the rules announced by the tour guide or by any other agent of the Responsible Tourism Company. These are rules to ensure clients’ safety and the quality of the travel program.
6.4. Assistance: Responsible Tourism Company undertakes to provide all necessary on-site and useful assistance to the clients in the event of an incident covered by the insurance and in particular to assist the clients in completing administrative formalities with local authorities and the insurer.
7. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY :
7.1. Responsible Tourism Company undertakes to provide all the services agreed with the latter and included in the travel program.
7.2. Clients are responsible for all actions: Any activity that does not fall within the scope of the travel program or any violation of the law of the host country will not be the responsibility of the Responsible Tourism Company.
7.3. Responsible Tourism Company is responsible to clients as an intermediary between the latter and the various service providers (Airlines, hotels, restaurants, boats…) and must ensure a certain quality of services. However, the Responsible Tourism Company should not be confused with these various providers who in any case retain their own responsibility.
7.4. Responsible Tourism Company is not responsible of any force majeure.
8. CLAIM:
If the services do not correspond to the description in the program or if there is a major defect, clients are obliged to contact without any delay to our local guide, service providers or our correspondences whose contracts are given in the travel documents and ask them to fix the problem.
If the intervention does not provide a solution, clients must require a written document from the tour guide or service provider, confirming the content of the claim. The claim or, if applicable, the claim for damages must be sent in writing no later than 21 days after the end of the trip.
9. RESPUTES, LAW APPLICATION AND JURISDICTION:
If no amicable solution is found, the “International Arbitration Center of Uganda” under the” Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uganda” will have sole jurisdiction to settle the dispute. The contractual relationship between clients and Responsible Tourism Company is subject to Ugandaese law.
