Viva Holidays reverses fee increase following president Donald Trump’s 360 on tariffs

Viva Holidays has now reversed its cost increase on confirmed trips, following US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause tariffs. 

As reported by Travel Weekly, a number of agents who had booked trips with Helloworld’s Viva Holidays were informed earlier this week that the cost of confirmed deposited trips had been adjusted after Trump’s decision to impose currency tariffs on countries, including Australia, led to a significant weakening of the Australian dollar.

In some instances, the cost of the trip increased by as much as 30 per cent. As reported by Travel Weekly, this condition is made explicitly clear in Viva Holiday’s terms and conditions, which travel agents are legally bound to share with their clients as per Australian consumer law.

President Donald Trump has since paused his decision on imposing global tariffs for 90 days, whilst upping its tariffs against China to an eye-watering 125 per cent. Following the shift in Trump’s strategy, the Australian dollar rebounded, lifting by 3.3 per cent in one day – its biggest increase since the financial crisis.

Following the improvement in the Australian dollar, Viva Holidays notified agents stating that prices would be moved back down. It did warn, however, that prices could change again depending on the volatile currency market and that Viva Holidays is not in a position to absorb these costs. As one of Australia’s largest suppliers, Helloworld and its brands are significantly exposed to currency risk.

Viva Holidays was not the only supplier to contact agents, stating that there would be price fluctuations due to the volatile currency market. Sicily Escapes contacted agents stating that any trips that had not been confirmed with a deposit would need to be reviewed and requoted but could be subject to change. All existing trips that had been confirmed via a deposit would remain fixed with Sicily Escapes absorbing the cost of any currency fluctuations. Similarly, Sun Island Tours also let its agents know that new trips would be subject to currency fluctuations; however, confirmed trips – deposited or not – would remain unchanged.

In instances where a supplier needs to adjust the price on a confirmed trip, suppliers provide notice to agents and their customers so that they can choose whether to pay in full to avoid the increase.

Several agents said they had not seen this happen since the financial crisis, when the Australian dollar fell significantly. Whilst suppliers generally try to absorb currency fluctuations via buffers and buying currency, there are wider questions around whether this is sustainable if the global economy becomes more volatile.

As per CATO MD Brett Jardine’s advice, Travel Weekly encourages agents to ensure that they are clearly communicating with their clients regarding the legalities of currency fluctuations.

Viva Holidays commented: “Following the strengthening of the AU$ versus the USD$ as the result of suspension of tariffs from the US, VIVA Holidays, in accordance with its T&Cs, has re-adjusted the booking costs to last week’s exchange rate.”

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