Hard choices for the independent traveller

Q: I am booked to travel to Bali next week. The Foreign Office says "don't go". What are my rights?

A: That depends on whether you have put together your own trip or bought a package holiday. The latter case is simple: tour operators are cancelling holidays in Bali, and should refund the cash; they may offer an alternative, but you are not obliged to accept it.

Independent travel is trickier. If an airline is still flying to Bali (only Garuda Indonesia does so direct from the UK), it has no duty to offer a refund. If all else fails, you may be able to make a claim on insurance.

Q: We are due to fly to Malaysia for a package holiday, but fear another attack on Western holidaymakers in a predominantly Muslim country. May we cancel without loss?

A: Unlikely. Relatively few destinations are on the Foreign Office blacklist – see www.fco.gov.uk/travel for a complete list. Only when the Government warns against tourism are holiday companies obliged to hand back cash.

In practice, though, some long-haul tour operators will take a sympathetic attitude to people who wish to switch to another part of the world.

Q: I want to be a "good tourist". How should I respond to this awful attack?

A: Continue to travel in a thoughtful way. Visit developing countries and try to spend money so it ends up in the pockets of the local people. If travellers stay at home, many communities dependent on tourism face ruin. The world will, in every sense, be a poorer place.