last minute tour operator cancellation in ethiopia - original booking however on viator in australia - urgent advice needed
Looking for some advice.
I booked and paid for a 12-day Ethiopia tour through Viator months ago. The tour starts in tomorrow.
Today, the tour operator contacted me on WhatsApp saying they can no longer provide the itinerary I booked. They said due to security issues in Tigray and increased operating costs, they’ve replaced it with a completely different 8-day itinerary.
They’re offering the new tour for USD 1,800 and say they’ll refund my original Viator booking, but only if I cancel the Viator booking myself first.
The frustrating part is that two weeks ago I specifically contacted both Viator and the operator to confirm the tour was still going ahead because I wanted to avoid exactly this kind of last-minute situation. I was reassured everything was fine.
Now I’m in Addis Ababa with very few alternatives.
I’ve already contacted Viator and am waiting for their response, but I’m wondering:
Should I refuse to cancel and insist the operator cancels instead?
If I cancel myself, could I lose any protection or make it harder to get a refund?
Is it a red flag that they’re asking me to pay for the replacement tour outside the Viator platform?
Has anyone dealt with something similar? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.