Beijing Dongcheng District People's Court has received a lawsuit filed by a Chinese tourist surnamed Ke against CAS Int's Travel Service (Beijing), which is alleged to have refused to return Ke's deposit after he canceled the travel service due to sickness.
It is learned that Ke registered for a Maldives trip with CAS that was scheduled for June 7, 2009, but he developed a fever on the night of June 5. His father notified the travel agency about the illness on his behalf and it was decided to cancel the trip after Ke was diagnosed as having an upper respiratory tract infection. Ke afterwards contacted the travel agency on many occasions asking for his deposit to be refunded. However the travel agency refused, and so he has sued the agency.
CAS argued that it had not been advised by the tourism department that a tourist can cancel a trip because of a fever of 37 degrees Celsius. The travel agency further stated that it was Ke who wanted to cancel the trip; however no travel ban was issued by the airport or other relevant departments. In addition, Ke's diagnosis certificate did not have a hospital stamp so it can not be used as a valid evidence for his illness. The travel agency said that it had already paid for the hotel room and air ticket for Ke when it learned that Ke was sick. According to the agreement signed between them, it should be exempt from any responsibility for the losses caused by the tourist's own actions.
So far, the court has not made a judgment on the case.
