Last Monday, September 23, the reservation period for travel rentals opened for the new season of the Imserso Social Tourism Program. Thousands of retirees could make reservations there in a large number of coastal and inland destinations, as well as on the islands. The program has – like last year – 886,269 places, of which 50.08% (443,887 places) are intended for tourism on the peninsular coast; 25.96% (230,039) is allocated to coastal island tourism and 23.96% (212,343) is reserved for getaway tourism.
However, with only one week to go before the registration period opens, it is important to ask yourself if the contracted trips can be canceled in the future or, if so, if a 100% refund of the amount initially paid can be obtained or simply. a proportional share.
How to cancel an Imserso trip
It is possible to cancel an Imserso trip once booked, although this will require carrying out a series of steps and fulfilling certain conditions. In this way, any retiree who cannot travel to a specific destination and wishes to cancel their trip will be able to recover the entire amount if they meet a series of conditions.
To begin with, there are two ways to cancel the trip depending on the method of booking, destinations contracted through a travel agency and destinations contracted. online. For the former, the user must contact the agency to process their cancellation directly. Concerning the latter, all those who have contracted a trip online You can cancel it from the “See my reservations” section on the official Imserso website.
After canceling the reservation, to obtain a full refund of the amount, it will be necessary to send – within 15 days before the start of the trip – a message to the official email address authorized for this purpose, refunded@ turismosocial.com. In it, the following information must be added:
- Passengers’ surnames, first names and identification number.
- Travel data: booking locator, name of travel holder and other data related to the trip in question.
- The 24 digits of the banking IBAN.
- Address for reimbursement -if applicable-.
- Official proof with the reason for the cancellation – hospitalization, death certificate, etc. -.
- Document proving connection to a sick, injured or deceased person – if this is the reason for cancellation.
Therefore, for the cancellation to be effective, the reason must be justified – such as hospitalization or the death of a family member. Otherwise, cancellation management fees will be charged, which amount to 6.20% of the total price, to which are added other additional costs if the cancellation is not notified 15 days in advance .
In this case, the amount linked to the cancellation fee will depend on how quickly the cancellation is made. Therefore, the later the documentation to cancel a destination is sent, the more expensive it will be to cancel.
Thus, cancellation fees vary depending on when the trip is canceled, thus penalizing the user of the reservation:
- If the trip is canceled between 10 and 15 days before the departure date, a fee will be charged 5% of the total cost of the trip.
- If the trip is canceled between 10 and three days before the departure date, 15% of the total trip amount will be charged.
- If the trip is canceled two days -48 hours before the start of the trip-, 25% of the total amount will be charged.
- If the cancellation coincides with a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday – which does not allow it to be effective in time within the last 48 hours – 50% of the total amount of the trip will be charged.
- If the trip is canceled the same day, the full amount – 100% of the trip cost – will be charged.
However, if there is an official certified document that proves a compelling cause preventing the trip from being carried out, the entire amount paid – 100% of the trip price – will be refunded.
It is therefore important that all users book their trips responsibly and plan them in advance, because not only is there the possibility of obtaining a financial penalty if a destination is not canceled in time, but also their reservation could cause them to lose their place. from another possible traveler.
Conditions for accessing the Imserso Tourism Program
Although the booking period for Imserso Social Tourism Program trips began last Monday, September 23, it is still possible to access different locations in various destinations. To do this, it is necessary to meet a series of requirements; However, if you respect them, it is important to remember that in 2024, the deadline for submitting applications ended on July 22. When next year’s submission period opens – probably in November and will remain open until May 2025 – the easiest way will be to submit a telematic application via Imserso’s electronic headquarters:
People residing in Spain who meet one of the following conditions:
- Being retired from the Spanish social security system
- Be a widow’s pension aged 55 or over from the Spanish social security system
- Be retired for other concepts of the Spanish social security system or beneficiary of unemployment benefits or subsidies, aged 60 or over
- Be insured or beneficiary of the Spanish social security system, aged 75 or over
Spaniards residing abroad provided they meet one of these conditions: be resident in Germany, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland. They can process it with the corresponding labor, immigration and social security services.
Spaniards of immigrant origin returned to Spain, provided that they are retired from the public social security systems of the country or countries to which they emigrated.
Users may be accompanied by their spouse or, where applicable, a de facto partner or a person with whom a stable and cohabiting union is established with an emotional relationship similar to that of a conjugal one, without it being necessary that they meet the age or pension requirements.
Likewise, they may be accompanied by their disabled sons or daughters, to a degree equal to or greater than 45 percent, provided that they travel with their parents and stay in the same room or, where applicable, pay the established supplement for double. rooms for individual use which will be subject to availability of places. In all cases, seat users and their companions must take care of themselves to carry out the basic activities of daily life.
If you do not meet the requirements, remember that most travel agencies offer packages for seniors, with which you can find offers to organize your vacation at a lower cost.
