Between March and June 2020, travel agency ROCS Group received around 10,000 requests from clients inquiring about the status of their holiday, says company Director Rachel Vella during the latest episode of The Boardroom.

“Clients have been asking us what is going to happen to their hard-earned money and their holiday plans – we’ve been trying to find solutions for everyone. The hardest part in this is the uncertainty and not knowing what the next month will bring along,” she says.

Ms Vella explains that throughout her many years at the helm of ROCS, “we have never experienced something that has hit us so hard. We are working harder than we ever have before, but the reality is what it is. Of course it is not just ROCS and Malta that have been hit, It is a worldwide calamity and we have been trying our utmost to give the best service we are known for and still find a solution for each client.”

One of the greatest challenges for ROCS as a tour operator, which handles up to 30,000 Maltese clients looking to travel every year, has been finding solutions with both clients and suppliers, says Ms Vella.

“Our licence obliges us to pass on the money to our suppliers immediately, so when a client comes to our office to book a holiday we pay our suppliers there and then to secure their seats, cabin, accommodation and so on. However, the money is not held in our pockets, so what we’ve been trying to do since March is find solutions with our suppliers to keep clients happy.”

Another challenge the company has been facing relates to the EU Package Holiday Directive – an EU law that protects consumers who purchase package holidays organised by tour operators and other forms of combined travel.

“Government has given us six months of breathing space to find solutions with our suppliers, but even though it is an EU regulation, and we are bound to follow it, there are members states in Europe, such as Italy, France, Germany and Denmark, who have ignored it and are only offering clients the option to postpone their holidays,” she asserts.

Using one of the company’s most popular destinations, Paris, as an example, Ms Vella adds “Paris is following its own legislations which say that they only offer postponement of holidays, while we in Malta have to follow the Directive which says if the client wants to be refunded, they have to be refunded. But again, the money isn’t in our pockets. So yes, it is an unprecedented situation and challenge.”

Although from next week all restrictive measures will be lifted and therefore travel to and out of Malta will be permitted, the Director of ROCS says the willingness of people to travel will likely be split. “I presume like everything else there are two kinds of people – the ones wo can’t wait to get off the island and those who are sceptical about travelling. I have clients who won’t dream about travelling at the moment, while others are ready to travel as far as South Africa, irrespective of Covid. I think this virus is something we have to live with, and we must take the plunge and go.”

As a company, ROCS has been channelling a lot of energy into rolling out products and packages for 2021, in the hope that more people will start planning their holiday earlier for next year. She adds that many clients have been happy to know that their money isn’t lost and that they can travel and enjoy their trip next year.

However, attitudes have varied among clients, says Ms Vella. “The attitude in general is that people are panicking, but the reality is that we need to follow instructions of suppliers, and relaying their rules hasn’t been easy,” she asserts.

“We always try our utmost to give the best service possible and are conscious that without clients we won’t have a business. But we ask our clients for patience – having tens of thousands of clients and suppliers to liase between is a challenge. My advice is not to panic – just give us time to solve each problem.”

Ms Vella concludes that working in the travel industry is not for the light-hearted, and vulnerability is part of the territory. “We often feel vulnerable not knowing what could happen – natural disasters, acts of terrorism, now a pandemic, but there is nothing more pleasurable than getting on a plane and getting clients back to enjoying their holidays as they did before March 2020,” she asserts.

“I am confident and believe in our brand, people and clients, and sooner rather than later we will bounce back from this shocking reality. If we can handle this, we can handle anything.”