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Destinos TV
was ordered to suspend the
commercialization of
holiday contracts that
imply the future execution
of services and that they
do not have the
authorization of the
Ministry of Economy / Photo
published by tourists on
Destinos Facebook page.
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Travel agency had no
authorization to sell
tourism plans, said Ministry
of Economy
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministry of Economy,
regarding recent breaches by
Destinos TV in the sale of
tourist packages to Oasis
hotel* in Cancun,
confirmed that the company
"does not have authorization
from the Ministry, for the
sale of tourist plans for the
term."
Since June of last year, the
Ministry had "denounced to the
National Consumer Commission,
through the Department of
Education and Term Sales, the
company for selling public and
generalized tour packages
without authorization."
However, the National Consumer
Commission does not have the
authority to temporarily close
a company that repeatedly
violates or sells tourism
plans without authorization,
the Ministry said in its
statement.
According to the National
Consumer Commission, since
November 2018, a precautionary
measure was in place in which
Destinos TV was ordered, " to
suspend the commercialization
of holiday contracts that
imply the future execution of
services and that they do not
have the authorization of the
Ministry of Economy, as well
as suspend immediately any
advertising activity in any
communication medium aimed at
offering such contracts or
making them known to
consumers.”
Notification of this
precautionary measure was
delivered to the travel agency
in November 2018.
Given the travel agency's
refusal to comply with the
precautionary measure, the
Ministry announced that it is
in the process of imposing the
following sanctions:
- Fine that could be
equivalent between 10 to 40
basic salaries fine rate. That
could be a fine between $7,800
up to $31,434.
The basic salary fine rate is
the amount for public
employees, which is used as
the base to calculate the fee.
A base salary fine is
approximately ¢466,200 colones
(about $785.85).
- The judicial execution for
the collection of the fine.
- Possible complaint to the
Public Ministry for the crime
of disobedience to the
authority.
In addition, the Ministry
confirms that it has no
jurisdiction to provide
compensation for damages
(material or moral), which
could have been caused by the
failure of the trip to Oasis
hotel* in Cancún,
by Destinos TV.
The specialists of the
Ministry advise people
affected by the total
non-compliance in the Cancún
trip that they have the right
to the refund of the total
amount paid, and they can
lodge the complaint at the
offices of the National
Consumer Commission
According to Article 19 of the
Costa Rican Code of Civil
Procedure, complaints about
damages caused by the
non-fulfillment of the
contract with the travel
agency can be made
individually or collectively,
through organized groups such
as consumer organizations.
The specialists of the
Ministry call on people to buy
vacation packages through a
verified web page. Authorized
providers can be found at www.consumo.go.cr.
In addition, it is recommended
that tourists always ask for
official documents that prove
the hotel reservation, air
tickets, and contracts that
support the tourist package
and the invoice with the total
description of the package.
Regarding the controversies of
the agency, José Cortés,
general manager of Destinos
TV, at a press conference,
said that the problems with
the trip to Cancun, were
caused by airline changes
after air accidents, so 100
percent of flights could not
be met.
"As you have learned, during
the last weeks due to the
recent plane crashes, very
drastic measures have been
taken towards the airlines in
order to protect the integrity
of the passengers"
According to Cortés, the delay
in the flight back to Costa
Rica of 180 tourists who
traveled to Cancun during Holy
Week was the fault of "The
Mexican Aviation Authority is
checking that each crew has
the necessary rest hours and
28 airlines, among them
several Latin Americans, have
had to stop operating an
airplane model of a brand
known by all of you".
The travel agency had
been reported on social
networks last week for not
having complied with the
accommodation agreement
of tourists who traveled
to Cancun for Easter,
announced that the return to
Costa Rica, which was
scheduled for Sunday will be
one day late. The
tourists arrived Monday night.
Mr. Cortés, said to
the tourists in a
statement,
"Unfortunately this situation
has caused a wave of
consequences, including
cancellations of future trips
that make it impossible to
maintain the continuous
operation of Easter and
subsequent flights."
Regarding the reason for the
delay in the return to the
country, the travel agency
said that "'SHY AVIATION'
flight operator has informed
us that the flight originally
scheduled for return on April
21 will be rescheduled for
Monday 22 in the evening
hours. That additional day
will compensate for the
waiting time prior to
accessing the rooms."
Regarding the additional
expense that tourists must pay
for an extra hotel night, the
agency confirmed that they
would assume that cost,
"Naturally we will assume the
hotel costs until they check
out on the 22nd. We ask (to
the tourist) that on Monday do
not make distant trips since
between 6 to 7 p.m., we have
planned the transfer to the
airport and we thank them for
their patience and
understanding," said the
agency on its statement. "In
addition, two representatives
from the agency traveled to
Cancun to help tourists with
pertinent information to
re-program and support them
with what they require."
On April 17, a group of 180
tourists, mostly Costa Ricans,
reported on social networks
and local TV channels, that
they had been being tricked
into a vacation package to
Cancun by the travel agency.
According to complaints,
tourists had purchased a
package that included plane
tickets, transfers, and
accommodations at the hotel
located in Cancun, from
Thursday to Sunday.
On arriving at the hotel on
Thursday, they were informed
that the reservations had not
been made and that they could
not stay at the hotel.
Tourists' report they had to
wait more than six hours in
the street until they received
a response from the travel
agency.
The travel agency replied in a
press release confirmed the
transfer of tourists. "Today
(Wednesday), in the early
hours of the morning, 180
passengers boarded the San
Jose-Cancun flight at the Juan
Santamaría airport at 2:55 am,
scheduled flight time on the
Viva Aerobus airline, to
Mexican company with which
destinations TV operates more
than 100 flights a year on
time. Passengers arrived at
5:25 am local time in Cancun,
and then they were transferred
to the hotel and at 6:30 am
they arrived at the Oasis
hotel," said the agency on its
statement.
According to the agency, the
problem with the lodging was
because when they arrived in
Cancun at the Hotel of the
Oasis Chain, they (the hotel)
could not deliver the rooms
when the passengers arrived
because they were not ready at
that time. “It is an
operational issue for groups
leaving at that same time."
The agency said that the delay
was due to the high season but
that all 180 tourists had
already been settled in their
respective rooms. "The
involuntary high season delays
in airlines and hotels are
normal, although logically
they create inconveniences
among passengers due to the
high flow of income. At the
time of entry was the hotel
manager and only received a
response from reception staff,
at local time in Costa Rica
all passengers have received
their respective rooms."
However, on social networks,
tourists denied what was said
by the travel agency and
confirmed that many people had
to pay for accommodations in
another hotel.
This is the second case in ten
months in which the company
caused controversy by
breaching the terms of travel
packages that it sells to
tourists.
On June 2018, a group of 300
tourists had purchased World
Cup trips to Russia were left
stuck at the Juan Santamaría
airport.
The charter flight supposed to
transport 300 Costa Ricans was
canceled by the agency. The
company said that the provider
did not comply with the
contract.
"The responsibility is 100
percent mine for making the
decision to operate with
another company different from
the ones used at other times,"
Mr. Cortés in a press release.
The company said that a few
days after signing the
contract for a plan to leave
Thursday and return on June
28, the provider changed the
rules, offering alternatives
on smaller planes and higher
costs.
"Nine days ago I started
receiving information that the
provider had problems with the
offered plans," said Cortés.
In that case, some of the
tourists were sent to Russia
on commercial flights but some
others asked for their money
back.
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Have you ever heard about
complaints about travel
packages?We
would like to know your thoughts
on this story. Send your
comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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