Africa travel company Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) has announced that it has amended its cancellation policy for travelers with 2014-2015 reservations to Africa, effective immediately, due to concerns over the Ebola virus outbreak.
Travelers booked on any of OAT's itineraries to Southern and East Africa will now be able to cancel their reservation up to the day of their departure without penalty.
"While we have received very few cancellations to date, we want to be sensitive to and respectful of our travelers who do have concerns," said Harriet R. Lewis, co-chair of OAT. "O.A.T.'s Boston leaders have been working closely with our offices in Cape Town, South Africa, Arusha, Tanzania and Marrakesh, Morocco, and communicating regularly with travel partners and guides in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Kenya. Based on their information, O.A.T. will continue to operate all scheduled departures."
OAT offers itineraries in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, and Morocco. O.A.T. does not offer any itineraries in West Africa. In addition, to the new cancellation policy, travelers will now have the option to change their reservation to any another O.A.T. itinerary without penalty. To date, fewer than 2 percent of travelers booked on an Africa adventure have cancelled their upcoming departures.
To support Ebola relief efforts, O.A.T. will fund the operation of a 100 bed Ebola Center in West Africa for one month through a $29,500 donation to UNICEF. The donation will be made through O.A.T.'s charitable arm Grand Circle Foundation.
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