Hotels will be required to refund customers their deposits should they fail to show up after testing positive for COVID-19 at the airport, the Tourism Bureau said Monday, before a new COVID-19 testing protocol was launched.
Testing positive for the disease is considered force majeure, meaning the deposits must be fully refunded, the bureau said, citing the “Mandatory and Prohibitory Provisions of Standard Contracts for Individual Travelers Booking Room.”
The Tourism Bureau reminder came after Taiwan announced new COVID-19 testing rules for travelers arriving on long-haul flights to Taiwan that will be carried out starting after midnight Monday.
Under the new rules, passengers on flights from Europe, the United States, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia will have to wait at the airport for the results of a COVID-19 test they are required to take upon arrival, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
Those who receive a positive result will have their passports and other entry documents inspected by specially designated airport workers. They will then be taken to the hospital by ambulance for further testing and treatment, the CECC said.
At present, when a traveler is notified of a confirmed diagnosis for the disease while staying at a quarantine hotel, in addition to the cost of staying in the room, the traveler must also pay for the number of days the room is left empty to be disinfected, Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (???) said at a separate event Monday.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel