International - Terms & Conditions

Dear Guest(s),

We make every effort to provide you with the best services in a pleasant and friendly atmosphere at all times. We strive for your complete satisfaction to provide a safe and secure journey to the best of our ability without any misunderstandings between the tour escorts, the company and you at any time.

The Terms and Conditions given hereunder and on our website, (any other printed material) and Brochures, form the basis of our agreement and understanding with you. You are required to read, understand and accept all the terms and conditions and Brochure before you register yourself / family / friends for any of our tours.

1) Extent and Commencement:

(a) These Terms and Conditions be called AE Travel (World Tourist) Terms and Conditions 2013-14.

(b) They extend to the World Tours organised by the AE Travel

A) Definitions:

In these Terms and Conditions unless the context otherwise requires:

• Tour/s means any World Tours organised by AE Travel
• First day of the tour shall start at any time (i.e. in the morning/afternoon/evening) at the first destination depending on the arrival of the respective flight/train/cruise or any mode of transport, same shall be in case of the last day of the tour. In other words, a 'Day' shall mean a part of the day or 24 hours or its part thereof.
• Tour Escort / Leader / Manager / Assistant by whatever designation called means a Person designated by Company to help / guide / assist the tourist/s in and or during World Tours Organised byAE Travel
• Force Majeure means an event or circumstance not within the reasonable control, directly or indirectly, of the AE Travel in its ability to perform its obligations / responsibilities regarding the tour including (i) war, hostilities, invasion, act of foreign enemies; (ii) rebellion, revolution, insurrection or military or usurped power or civil war; (iii) epidemic, explosion, fire, flood, earthquake or other exceptional natural calamity and act of God; (iv) ionizing radiation or contamination by radioactivity from any nuclear fuel, or from any nuclear waste from the combustion of nuclear fuel, radioactive toxic explosive, or other hazardous properties of any explosive nuclear assembly or nuclear component of such assembly; (v) riot, commotion or disorder; (vi) any act or omission of any Government instrumentality; (vii) a Change in Legal Requirements; (viii) strikes lock outs or other industrial disturbances; and (ix) abnormal weather or sea conditions including tempest, lightning, hurricane, typhoon, rain and temperatures.
• Brochure means World Showcase for the respective years brought out / published by AE Travel
• Independent Contractor means a person and/or organization selected by AE Travel to render services including transport, hotel, Restaurants, sightseeing to the tourist/s and/or to AE Travel
• Meal means breakfast, lunch, dinner and/or any other snacks supplied.
• Jain food means food without Ginger, onion, garlic and potatoes served at the time of tour groups meals not necessarily before sunset.
• Each of these terms and conditions shall be severable and if any provision thereof is declared invalid, illegal or unenforceable, then remaining provisions nevertheless shall have full force and effect.
• Group tours mean where the services provided are similar to all the tourists in that group.

2) Scope of Activity:

The Company is an organization that coordinates all the services of the tour to help the tourists for undertaking the tour. The Company takes utmost care in selecting all the services and or independent Contractors who provide them, to make tour of the tourist comfortable. All the tourists booking and/or registering for tour organized / proposed to be organized by the company shall read, apply their mind and abide by and strictly comply and observe all the terms and conditions laid down herein.

We update our booked/traveled guests from time to time by sending them various tour-related instructions through sms/emails/telephone/ or any other mode of communication, solely for their convenience.

3) Brochure:

Brochure along with tour tariff is published by the Company from time to time. All previous Brochures, letters and any other modes of circulation printed and/or published by the Company shall stand canceled on publication of the Latest Brochure. Every effort is made to ensure brochure accuracy, based on the available information at the time of publication of the brochure. The maps used therein and or letters and any other modes of circulation printed and/or published by the Company are inserted solely for convenience and are not necessarily to scale and/or official.

The Company, without assigning any reasons, reserves the right to change any brochure information including Tour itinerary, tour tariff, departure date, number of nights at the destination, and hotels before or after any tourist makes a booking and/or registration for any tour and or after the departure of any tour. The Company will endeavour to inform the tourists of such changes as soon as possible.

City tour includes panoramic view of places as mentioned in tour program and unless specifically mentioned, it is panoramic view or a photo stop. The last day of the tour will be the last destination/country as per pre-decided/revised itinerary.

4) Booking:

• Tourists' signature on the tour Booking/Registration form and/or payment of the initial registration amount whichever earlier shall mean acceptance by the Tourist(s) in totality of the Terms and Conditions contained herein. Affixing the signature of one or more tourists on the 'Booking/Registration Form', shall be deemed to mean that the tourists other than signatories have duly authorized the signing tourists and all the tourists for whom the Booking/Registration was made shall be deemed to have been bound by the terms and conditions contained herein.
• The payment of initial registration amount just indicates the tourist's intention of participation in the tour but does not entitle them to any of the services including travel tickets, visas, hotel accommodations, etc. until the full tour tariff payment has been received by the Company.
• If full tour tariff is not paid in time, the Company reserves the right to cancel the booking/registration with consequent forfeiture of deposit and the deduction of cancellation charges.
• Special services cannot be given to any specific person in a group tour. The Company, without committing itself or being held responsible in any way whatsoever, will make reasonable attempt to accommodate the special needs of disabled travelers/senior citizens if informed at the time of booking. Most transportation services are not equipped with wheelchair ramps. A qualified companion at the entire cost of the disabled tourist/senior citizen must accompany the tourist who needs services not provided by the Company and or independent Contractor to the other tourists in the Group.
• A transfer from the originally booked tour to another tour is treated as cancellation of the earlier tour, and a fresh booking of another tour has to be made. All cancellation charges will apply on tour tariff and not on discounted tour tariff for the earlier booked tour. The tour tariff and discounts available/given for the canceled tour are not valid for fresh booking. Tour tariff and discounts prevailing on the date of fresh booking of another tour will be applicable.
• The Tour shall proceed only if the number of tourists who have booked the tour exceeds 20, and the said booking of 20 tourists must be received by the Company at least 30 calendar days prior to the scheduled start of the tour. If the number of tourists booked for any tour falls below 20, then the tour may operate without a company tour manager and Chef and on MAP plan accommodation with breakfast and dinner and/or with an additional surcharge. However, the Company may cancel the tour without assigning any reason, and in such an event the tourist can claim only the amount paid by them after deducting the taxes. Till the total number of tourists reaches 20, the booking of the tourist will be strictly provisional. In the event of the company deciding to cancel the tour, cancellation of the tour shall be communicated at least 15 calendar days prior to the date of commencement of the tour via any of the following modes (1) sms, (2) telephone, and (3) email as per the information given by the tourist or any person for and on behalf of Tourist/s at the time of booking of the tour. In case of cancellation of any tour by the Company, the actual amount paid by the tourists shall be refunded to the tourists.
• It is presumed that the tourist who has booked the tour has gone through the itinerary and is well aware of the same. It is presumed that the Tourist is Medically fit to undertake the said tour. The persons who are medically fit to undertake the said tours shall join the said tour. The persons who are and/or who have suffered from any ailments for which they have taken medical treatment have gone into check-up hospitalization, shall not join the said tour. Whenever on tour, in case of any health emergency or health-related issues, the guests shall be solely responsible to make their own arrangements on the tour for medical assistance. Guests should not expect the Tour Manager to pay full-time attention and/or to provide any medical treatment. It is possible that the Tour Manager may be busy in his work for making arrangements for the rest of the group. Thus the Company cannot be held responsible for any health-related issues of the guests.
• If any tourist is suffering from any medical ailment and has concealed the same, the Company reserves the right to cancel the booking/registration of any tourist on medical and or other grounds without assigning reasons therefor. The Company also reserves the right to restrict/modify/amend the tour of such tourist/s without assigning any reasons. If the company so directs, the tourist shall have to travel by a separate transport at an additional cost to be paid by the tourist immediately. The tourist suffering from any disease at the time of booking/registration is required to provide the doctor's fitness certificate to undertake the tour. In case of death of a tourist, all the arrangements for transportation of the dead body including procuring the death certificate, post-mortem, repatriation of dead body, and all personal effects/property and insurance claims etc. shall be made by the accompanying tourist and/or relative of the deceased. The Company shall not be responsible for extending any help for the same. The entire expenses shall be borne by the accompanying tourist or their relatives. The company or any tour leader shall not be responsible for the same. If any of the relatives want to visit the country where the tourist expired, all the necessary arrangements shall be made by the said relatives only.
• Persons, friends, or relatives of the tourists who have not booked the tour shall not be allowed in hotel rooms, restaurants, coaches & sightseeing places, or for any activity on the tour.

5) Insurance

The tour cost does not include insurance charges unless it is mandatory as per the prevailing rules of the respective countries. Tourist/s are advised and recommended to acquire adequate Insurance Policy and Overseas Travel Insurance cover as per requirement of the Government of the Country concerned to meet expenses including medical, legal, hospitalization, accident etc. during the tour. Presently for most of the European countries, it is mandatory to obtain an Overseas Travel Insurance policy for the tour. In Europe, Egypt, and Dubai Tours, the insurance charges for tourists up to the age of 59 years are included in the tour tariff, and for those exceeding the age of 59 years, insurance charges have to be paid by the tourist over and above the tour tariff.

It is obligatory for the tourist to make full disclosure to the Company of his medical condition that may affect his ability to take up and fully complete the tour. The Company reserves the right to call for any written certification of medical fitness before departure. The Company is not liable or responsible for settlement of insurance claims, which is a matter solely between the concerned insurance company and the tourist. Insurance companies do not insure baggage. Tourists are advised not to carry valuables or money on tour and to keep any valuables in cargo baggage. In case of any unfortunate event while on tour such as hospitalization or demise, it is the sole responsibility of the guest or relative of the hospitalized person or deceased to submit the necessary claim to the insurance authorities for processing.

6) Payments by Tourist

(i) Payment of Registration Amount

The registration amount paid at the time of booking is non-refundable and interest-free. All payments by the tourist shall be made in accordance with the procedure laid down in the brochure. Bookings will only be processed by the Company after the registration amount is paid in full. If the tourist fails to pay the full tariff in a timely manner, the Company reserves the right to cancel the booking/registration.

(ii) Tour Tariff

The tariff of the tour is calculated based on rates prevailing at the time of quoting. The Company reserves the right to change the tariff in the event of any rate modifications before the departure. Any such increase must be paid in full by the tourist before departure.

(iii) Discounts/Benefits

Early booking of the tour makes the tourist eligible for benefits or discounts as declared by the Company. These benefits are valid for a limited number of seats, a limited period, specific tour dates, and vary from tour to tour. To be eligible for discounts, tourists must pay the full registration amount at the time of booking.

7) Documents

(i) Passport

A valid passport is required whenever a tourist intends to travel abroad. The passport must have at least 180 days of validity from the arrival/conclusion date of the tour in India.

(ii) Loss of Passport

Tourists are responsible for ensuring the safety of their passports during the tour. The loss of a passport involves filing an FIR, visiting the Indian Embassy, and potentially obtaining a new passport.

8) Itinerary Changes

The Company reserves the right to change/modify/alter the tour itinerary in case of force majeure conditions.

9) Transport

(i) Coach/Bus Seating

The first four seats (1, 2, 3, and 4) in each bus/coach are reserved for the Company, including the Tour Escort/Guide.

10) Hotels

Hotel accommodation is generally provided on a twin-sharing basis in standard rooms. Single occupancy guests will be required to pay single occupancy charges.

11) Meals

Meals are generally pre-set according to the tour program. Baby meals are limited to basic options such as plain dal and rice.

12) Tour Managers on Tour

Tour Managers assist tourists throughout the tour, but tourists are responsible for carrying their baggage and personal belongings.

13) Baggage

Tourists are responsible for their own baggage at airports, during air travel, in coaches, and at immigration points.

14) Cancellation Charges

If the tourist decides to cancel the tour for any reason whatsoever, they shall make an application in writing to that effect within the specified time limit hereunder along with the original receipt issued by the Company. Such cancellation will attract the cancellation charges stated hereunder.

Cancellation charges for any mode of transport ticket are applicable as per the rules of the concerned authority. Air ticket cancellation charges for special fares if paid by the tourist are NON REFUNDABLE. Any refund payable will be refunded to the tourist after receipt of the refund from respective authorities after deducting the processing charges.

15) Miscellaneous

(i) Complaints or grievances

If the tourist has any claim, grievance, or complaint regarding services provided by any independent contractors, the tourist shall immediately notify the same to the independent contractor in writing. A copy thereof must be handed over to the tour escort/leader/Manager/Assistant and/or Company no later than 7 days to enable the Company to take up the matter with the concerned independent contractor.

(ii) Privacy of Information

Any Information furnished by the tourist to the tour escort/leader/Manager/Assistant and/or the Company is subject to disclosure as required by law, court order, or rules/regulations by any government/statutory authority. The Company shall not disclose any data of its own under any circumstances to any guests, including clarifications on itinerary, tour costs, cancellation charges, etc.

(iii) Government rules for NRI (Non-Resident Indian) Tourists

All tourists staying abroad, including NRIs or foreigners, should abide by the laws, rules, and regulations of the Government of India and/or the concerned country while undertaking the tour.

(iv) Photographs or Video Clips

The Company reserves the right to use photographs or video clips of the tourist taken on tour and/or provided by the tourist for the promotion of the Company’s business without obtaining prior permission from the concerned tourist.

(v) Valuables

The Company advises tourists not to carry valuable items during the tour. If carrying valuables, tourists should keep them with them when leaving the hotel or use safe deposit lockers. The Company is not liable for any loss of valuables.

(vi) Shopping

Shopping is an important activity during tours. AE Travel neither recommends nor promotes specific shops or vendors. Tourists are responsible for their own shopping decisions, and the Company takes no responsibility for any issues with vendors.

(vii) Tourists not allowed

Guests other than tourists are not allowed to be invited on the tour, nor are they allowed to use any of the services.

(viii) Paid Toilets

In some destinations, there are paid toilet facilities, which tourists are responsible for covering on their own.

(ix) Jurisdiction

All disputes pertaining to the tour and any claims arising thereunder shall be subject to the jurisdiction of courts in Mumbai only.

16) Refund

(i) Refunds, if any, for variations, modifications, amendments, alterations, or cancellations of any tour will be paid directly to the tourist by 'A/C payee' cheque in Indian Rupees, as per Reserve Bank of India Rules, regardless of whether payments were made in foreign currency.

(ii) No refund will be payable in the following cases:

• For any missed/unused services of the tour, including meals.
• If full deposits are required to be paid in advance to confirm reservations.
• If the tour services are modified, varied, amended, canceled, or not utilized.
• If a tourist cancels due to changes made by the concerned government.
• Where airfares are contracted in bulk for Airport-to-Airport travel.
• If the tour is indefinitely postponed due to natural calamities, riots, political unrest, or unforeseen events.
• Refunds are not applicable for Indian/domestic sectors, or for air tickets that are non-refundable and non-changeable.
• All bank charges for credit card transactions will be borne by the customer.
• Bank charges for credit card transactions are non-refundable in case of tour cancellation.

17) Online Bookings

(i) AE Travel provides online booking as a value-added service. Using this service, you can make booking requests for various services offered by AE Travel. Confirmation of prices and availability will be communicated to you before AE Travel is bound to provide the requested services, subject to full payment and compliance with relevant terms and conditions.

(ii) The online booking of services is subject to availability and at the discretion of AE Travel or its suppliers. All information provided must be accurate for security reasons and to allow AE Travel to communicate any developments affecting your travel. Incorrect contact details may result in cancellation at your risk and cost.