Food, Story, Mystery…
The tradition of hospitality is a sacred virtue in Albania. The idea of hospitality and respect for the voyager and the guest, has been always related to the idea of food, health and house. Albanians say “my house is the house of my guest” and referred to our tradition it cannot possibly happen otherwise! Albanian has always offered to his guest “bread, salt and his heart”. The served table means not only good food, but it represents respect, honor and gratitude towards the gest.
The Albanians have proven their cooking mastery and have praised it through words (in literature and poems), colors (in pictures and photos), artistic movements and expressions (dance and theatre), focusing on generosity, hospitality and cordiality.
Based on Law 7850, date 29.07.1994 “The Civil Code of the Republic of Albania” amended, Law 9734, date 14.05.2007 “On Tourism” amended and other effective legislation.
1. Preamble
1.1. VAS DMC (hereinafter “the agency”) is the first Albanian tour operator which offers vacations all year long. The agency operates with highly qualified staff and a long experience in the service field.
1.2. The agency operates with a network composed of 550 member agencies based in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia and offers accommodation in more than 100,000 hotels worldwide.
1.3. The agency offers its services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The offices’ working hours are open from Monday to Saturday, from 08:00 am to 06:00 pm.
2. Definitions
2.1. In this agreement, the following terms will be explained as:
2.1.1. Agency: Registered legal entity which offers, finds and makes possible touristic travel, travel tickets of different types of transportation and tickets to sport, music and showbiz events, in exchange of a fee.
2.1.2. Reservation or booking: the act of ordering or guarding a product like travel, accommodation or package tour. This is done by the agency, with a request from the client.
2.1.3. Reservation or booking is done through the online page www.albtoursd.com, through the contact with one of the offices of the agency or through the contact with one of the members of the agency.
2.1.4. Confirmation:a) The verification of the availability of a reservation or booking, orb) the final agreement by the means of which the client liquidates the obligations toward the agency and the agency guards with a final act the reservation or booking of the client.
2.1.5. Hotel: An establishment or a connected group of establishments, independent from any other construction, with no fewer than 6 rooms, within a single piece of land, in which accommodation, complementary services and commodity are offered for the public by a qualified staff.
2.1.6. Reimbursement: The amount of money the agency is obliged to return to the client in case of nonfulfillment of the agreement on the part of the agency without any reasonable cause or if the reasons stated in this document are present.
2.1.7. Package tour: The prepared combination of services, which is sold or offered for sale and which covers a period of time longer than 24 hours or which includes one night of accommodation. The package tour includes two or more components such as:a) Transportationb) Accommodationc) Other touristic services, independent from the transportation and accommodation. These services constitute a considerable amount of the package and they are included in the prepared combination and are billed or invoiced separately.
3. Obligations of the agency
3.1. The staff of the agency is obliged to explain all offers for which the client has expressed an interest. The staff, within the opening hours and in the way set in this agreement, is obliged to answer all questions and requests of the client.
3.2. The staff of the agency is obliged to explain the procedure to be followed in order for the tour to take place, according to the client’s request. One of the procedures is also the preparing of the documents that the client must present to the agency.
3.3. The staff of the agency is obliged to answer in the best possible way to the needs of the client regarding the reservation of the hotel, the transportation etc. If the client has chosen one of the packages prepared by the agency, the staff will answer only for the hotel and transportation set in the package.
3.4. If the request is made within the limits set in this agreement, the staff of the agency is obliged to enable a change in the accommodation according to the requests of the client. If this change comprises a financial cost, this cost is to be borne by the client.
3.5. If the request is made within the limits set in this agreement, the staff of the agency is obliged to enable a change in the transportation according to the requests of the client. If this change comprises a financial cost, this cost is to be borne by the client.
3.6. The agency declares to be responsible for every offer made public in the online page www.albtoursd.com, in the brochures and catalogs produced by the agency and for every offer advertised by the staff of the agency.
3.7. The agency is not responsible for the condition of the hotel rooms if they are not in the condition in which they appear in the official hotel online page or for the actions and behavior of the hotel staff in the destination chosen by the client.
3.8. The agency is not responsible for the cancellation of the tour in case of major force, natural causes, people’s protest or declaration of war in the destination chosen by the client and for every accident that happens as a result of these causes. The solution will be achieved with an agreement between the agency and the client.
3.9. The agency is not responsible for the damage or loss of luggage or personal items in the plane, airport, port, ship or hotel.
3.10. The agency is responsible for the damage or loss of luggage or personal items in the means of transportation offered by the agency for the transportation of the client from and to the airport or port or for the city tour.
4. Rights of the agency
4.1. The agency reserves the right to ask every necessary document for the realization and the reservation of the tour.
4.2. The agency reserves the right to receive, in the way set in this agreement, every payment that the client owes.
4.3. The agency reserves the right to cancel a reservation if the client does not liquidate all payments as set in this agreement.
4.4. In case of cancellation, the agency reserves the right to withhold from the amount paid by the client, expenses and commissions which are made prior to the cancellation.
5. Obligations of the client
5.1. The client is obliged to liquidate all payments according to this agreement.
5.2. The client is obliged to be present at the departure in the time and day set by the agency.
5.3. The client is obliged to give the exact number of participants in the tour if the client is responsible for the group.
5.4. The client is obliged to declare if animals are to participate in the tour.
5.5. The client is obliged to declare if underage people are to participate in the tour. Underage people that travel in the presence of other people are to take a proxy by both the parents.
6. Rights of the client
6.1. The client has the right to profit by the offer made by the agency, according to the data given by the staff.
6.2. The client has the right to ask all information on the tour. This is to be done during the opening hours of the agency and according to the terms set in this agreement.
6.3. The client has the right to ask for a reimbursement in case of cancellation of the tour, change in the hotel or the transportation or in case of nonfulfillment of the agreement on the part of the agency without any reasonable cause or if the reasons stated in this document are present.
7. Deadlines
7.1. The deadline for a reservation or booking is at least 14 days prior to the date set for the tour. The agency is not responsible if, even within this deadline, there are no vacancies in the hotel or in the means of transportation.
7.2. Cancellation deadline
7.2.1. If the reservation or booking of the client is cancelled by the client himself 21 days or more prior to the tour, the client is reimbursed the full amount paid to the agency. The agency reserves the right to withhold from the amount paid by the client, expenses and commissions which are made prior to the cancellation. Expenses include the bank fee when payment is made via credit or debit card.
7.2.2. If the reservation or booking of the client is cancelled by the client himself 10 to 20 days prior to the tour, the client is to bear transfer fees and 50% of administration expenses. Expenses include the bank fee when payment is made via credit or debit card.
7.2.3. If the reservation or booking of the client is cancelled by the client himself 4 to 9 days prior to the tour, the client is to bear transfer fees and 70% of the administration expenses. Expenses include the bank fee when payment is made via credit or debit card.
7.2.4. If the reservation or booking of the client is cancelled by the client himself in less than 3 days prior to the tour, the client will not profit any reimbursement.
7.2.5. If the client is not present or leaves the tour before the date set by the agency, the client will not profit any reimbursement.
7.3. Cancellation procedures In order for the cancellation to be valid, the client must complete a required form found in the offices of the agency. The client must be present personally or be represented by a member of the group registered to travel with the client. In this case, the client must call the agency to confirm the cancellation, while the representative of the group is still in the office.
8. Price and payment
8.1. Setting the price: The price made public in the online page www.albtoursd.com, or the price given by the staff of the agency is the final price of the offer or package.
8.2. Responsibility of the agency in case of change in price
8.2.1. The agency is not responsible for the change in the final price if this change is made by the hotel, in case of an increase in taxes to be paid in the destination and other impositions made by the Albanian or local authorities.
8.2.2. The agency is not responsible for the change in the final price in different periods of time during the year which are considered to be peak in tourism in the destination chosen by the client.
8.2.3. Charges for children vary according to the policies of the hotel. The agency is not responsible for these charges and for the variations in the price.
8.3. The whole amount of the payment is to be liquidated by the time the reservation is made. In agreement with the agency, the payment will be liquidated 50% by the time the reservation is made and 50% will be liquidated 14 days prior to the departure day. In case of delay in the payment, the agency reserves the right to cancel the reservation. In different periods of time during a year, the agency reserves the right to change the deadline of 14 days.
8.4. The reimbursement in case of a change of the package
8.5. Bank fee
8.5.1. When payment is made via credit card, the fee is paid by the agency.
8.5.2. When payment is made with a card in the office of the agency, there is no fee to be paid by the parties.
8.5.3. When payment is made by cash, there is no fee to be paid by the parties.
8.6. Liquidation of the price is to be made via the following procedures:
8.6.1. Cash in the agency office or in the offices of member offices.
8.6.2. Via credit card Visa or MasterCard, accompanied with an authorization form, a copy of the passport and the necessary data of the card, including the three digit code sent by fax if the client is not present in the office.
8.6.3. Via credit or debit card Visa, MasterCard, Visa Electron and Maestro using our machine if the client is present in the office.
8.6.4. Via bank transfer. The details of the agency’s bank account can be found here. In this case the client must send via fax or e-mail a copy of the invoice.
9. Settling the disputes
9.1. In case of a dispute, the agency will make every effort to achieve a solution with a quick agreement with the client.
9.2. The agency will ensure that every correspondence will be answered within the following period of time:a) no later than 14 days from the receiving of the request of the client; and b) no later than 28 days from the receiving of the request of the client for a detailed answer.
10. Copyright
10.1. VAS DMC declares that the online page www.vasdmc.com is property of the agency. The agency is responsible for each material posted in the page.
10.2. VAS DMC declares that the information on the accommodation and means of transportation is property of the official online pages of said accommodation and means of transportation. The information on www.vasdmc.com is updated frequently. The agency is not responsible if the information on the official online page of the accommodation or means of transportation is not accurate.
10.3. VAS DMC declares that on the online pages of the agency the only information posted is the information allowed to the public by the owners of the online pages of the accommodation and means of transportation. The information is not documented personally by the staff of the agency.
10.4. VAS DMC declares that the agency does not own any content cited in 10.3.
11. Approval of the agreement
11.1. The approval of this agreement is made by the shareholders of VAS DMC..
11.2. Any change in this agreement is made by the shareholders of VAS DMC .