An international tour operator is still waiting for refunds on deposits made at restaurants in the Kruger Park area – despite the bookings being cancelled in early March.

African Heart Travel, a tour operator specialising in tours of Southern Africa for French-speaking guests, had booked at three restaurants for a large group due to tour the Kruger National Park area in mid-April. The restaurant bookings were secured by large deposits.

In early March the trip was cancelled due to COVID-19 travel restrictions and Founder and Owner of African Heart Travel, Aurélie Tabart, immediately contacted the restaurants, asking for a refund on the deposits, which, she said, had been paid in good faith. Only one of the restaurants refunded African Heart Travel immediately.

The second restaurant said it would refund the full amount within a few days but only processed it less than a week ago. The third restaurant has been unresponsive.

CEO of the Restaurant Association of South Africa, Wendy Alberts, said restaurants had been encouraged to be accommodating to reservations that had already been paid for. This included flexibility to move the reservation to another date.

However, postponing long-haul tour groups was not always possible, said Tabart.

She said this had put her and her business in a very difficult position as, following the cancellation of the tour, her own clients had to be refunded. “In Europe they are pushing to give clients 100% refunds, which means we have clients asking for their money while we are still looking for ours.”