An Update Regarding Encore Travel and the Coronavirus

This post was updated on 2/28/20

In any situation regarding the health and safety of our travelers, we rely on the advice of the CDC and State Department to guide our approach.  At 6:00 PM on February 28, both of these organizations raised their advisories for travel to Italy to a Level 3.  As such, we are partnering with each of our group leaders heading to Italy this Spring to provide alternatives in terms of new destinations or travel dates.  As these new plans are sorted out, this news will be shared with all travelers.

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Dear ACIS/Encore Community:

In our 40+ years of operating educational travel programs around the world, we’ve had to navigate around all kinds of safety concerns. We understand that travelers have concerns due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Encore is vigilant in monitoring the State Department’s and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Travel Guidelines to provide us fact-based counsel on local travel conditions.  We also regularly consult with a third-party travel security specialist that advises us on the risks associated with travel to different areas in the world.

You can read the assessments for your upcoming travel destinations here:

State Dept.:  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/

CDC:  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/

Group leaders can take advantage of our Peace of Mind Program which allows groups, up to 45 days before departure, to change their travel dates or itinerary while agreeing to cover any cost differential associated with these modifications. Our standard policies regarding travel security and cancellations can be found here.  

If Encore (in consultation with the experts outlined above) determines a specific destination to be unsafe while a group is overseas, we will make immediate revisions to the itinerary to avoid the location in question at no additional cost to our participants.

Our safety and support infrastructure is the cornerstone of our business—it’s a key reason why group leaders choose to travel with us. We go above and beyond to not only provide once in a lifetime experiences for our participants, but to also ensure that they return home safely.

Thank you,
Peter Jones
ACIS/Encore President 

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For more general information and advice from the WHO, please visit https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019. 

The news around coronavirus is changing quickly. As such, we have created a page on our website that answers the most frequently asked questions. For more information, please visit https://www.encoretours.com/blog/coronavirus-faq.

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