INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TOURISM, TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY LAW place during the spring. As mentioned above, on March 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published an advice against non-essential travel to all countries. After the advice was issued on the evening of March 14, the Swedish Consumer Agency published a press release in which they informed consumers that those consumers who had canceled their package close before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ advice should also be entitled to a refund of the total price paid for the package. The industry opposed this statement and argued that only such circumstances that existed or were known at the time of the cancellation could be considered, when assessing of there was a right to cancel a package free of charge. ARN has tried a large number of cases where cancellation took place before March 14 and where travelers claimed that they had the right to cancel free of charge, often by referral to the press release of the Consumer Agency. In its decisions, ARN has clearly stated that only such circumstances that were known at the time of the cancellation may be considered. Subsequent circumstances, which were not known at the time of cancellation, are not relevant to the assessment. In connection herewith, ARN has clarified that the UEC do not have to exist at the time of cancellation, but it must be known by that time, and it must be obvious that the UEC would significantly affect the performance of the package at the time of the performance of the package. 1.2.6 The traveler’s personal circumstances In the above-mentioned opinion of the Commission on the interpretation of the PTD, the Commissions gives examples on situation where a traveler has a right to cancel without cancellation fee. According to one of these examples a traveler should have the right to cancel without cancellation fee”[i]f you or an accompanying family member have a medical condition for which exposure to the COVID-19 is particularly dangerous […] if the risk of contamination with COVID-19 at the travel destination or its immediate vicinity is declared high by the competent authorities when such increased risk significantly affects the performance of the package for the traveler(s). Such case may also be covered by your travel insurance.” The Swedish Consumer Agency also issued a press release stating that people who belonged to risk groups should have the right to cancel a package without cancellation fee in those situations. In a number of ARN- -cases, travelers have referred to high age or risk group affiliation as a basis for cancellation. However, ARN has noted that “the fact that travelers belong to a so-called risk group does not mean that these travelers easier fall ill than other travelers, but that those travelers risk having more severe symptoms than others
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