We are all facing an unprecedented and exceptional situation as the global spread of COVID-19 has become a worldwide pandemic.
Decisions to close borders in many countries in which we manage resorts have been multiplied and containment measures are becoming widespread.
Club Med’s priority: the health and safety of its G.Ms, G.Os and G.Es.
Club Med is constantly monitoring the situation with its Scientific Committee. We are following the recommendations issued by the World Health Organization and the health and government authorities of the countries in which we operate.
More than ever, Club Med’s priority is and remains the health and safety of its G.Ms, G.Os and G.Es.
Our teams have been fully committed to achieving this in these last weeks
In this highly evolving context, our operational teams in resorts and our sales teams, in constant communication with our partners, did their utmost to react as quickly as possible and take the necessary decisions every day regarding cancelled departures or closure of our resorts due to the closure of borders, ski areas, or recommendations from local health authorities.
All Club Med teams fully mobilized
Considering the exceptional measures put in place by the French government and many other national authorities, requesting us all to reduce our travel to a strict minimum, Club Med has taken important decisions.
Globally we have specifically chartered 8 planes to bring back our European customers staying in our resorts in Morocco, Senegal, in the Dominican Republic and from Club Med 2, before the closure of borders or interruption of airlines.
As Club Med Southern Africa, we facilitated the repatriation of 16 families/customers staying in our resorts in the Italian and French ski resorts, on Mauritius Island, in Maldives and Indonesia. This was done with available flights set up by partner airlines we are in constant contact with. All our customers came back home safely.
To date, all our resorts are closed. As soon as the situation will allow it, we will consider opening them gradually, as we will open Club Med Joyview Anji near Shanghai as from April 6.
All our teams in our resorts, agencies and offices did everything they could and have been fully mobilized to ensure the repatriation of more than 3,000 clients, and to listen and to support our customers who have had their stay cancelled as best as they can.
Some of our resorts have also donated perishable foodstuffs to various associations such as the “Banque Alimentaire de Haute-Savoie” or the “Croix-Rouge”.
Club Med Serre-Chevalier distributed, for instance, 15 000 face masks to the Briançon hospital, local retirement home and firefighters, our resort of Valmorel donated 135 face masks, 24 000 pairs of gloves and refills of hydro-alcoholic gels to the hospital of Albertville, and our resort of Aime La Plagne donated 200 face masks to the hospital of Bourg Saint-Maurice.
Finally, through the constant action of the Club Med Foundation, 1 900 meals were distributed to children in the city of Phuket and 5 000 meals to children in the villages around our Bali resort.
Commercial conditions relaxed right from the beginning of the crisis
All departures from South Africa have been postponed until further notice.
From the beginning of the crisis and in liaison with the other tourism professionals, we relaxed our commercial conditions and firstly offered a free postponement until May 2021 to our clients who had their stay cancelled.
For each new government measure or decision impacting our business and our customers, we updated the information available on our website https://www.clubmed.co.za/l/coronavirus-measure and our social networks (www.facebook.com/ClubMedSouthAfrica). We encouraged our customers to refer to this information as much as possible.
“Club Med at home” to keep in touch with our customers and offer them family reconnection moments.
Club Med offers the opportunity to take advantage of these moments together in our homes to share, relax and reconnect through “Club Med at home” accessiblehttps://www.clubmed.co.za/l/clubmed-at-home and via www.facebook.com/ClubMedSouthAfrica. We have drawn on the treasure trove of Mini Club’s G.Os and of our partners to share ideas for activities suitable for children of all ages and their parents.
On the program: coloring, board games, playlists by Club Med for young and adults alike, video and live yoga sessions proposed by Heberson Oliveira, cocktail and cooking recipes, including the Valmorel brioche with culinary French blogger Anne-Sophie Vidal.
Thanks to its partner Press Reader, Club Med also offers its clients 2 months of free access, from home, to the main newspapers and magazines in more than 120 countries; an exceptional offer traditionally reserved for clients staying in the Club Med Exclusive Collection spaces, resorts, Villas and Chalets.
Club Med is preparing for the post-COVID-19 rebound and will be there for its G.Ms, G.Os and G.Es.
Club Med has taken a number of measures to limit the severe impact that this crisis will have in the short term and will be entirely available, as soon as the current health risks are no longer a concern, to organize the postponement of the planned stays or the future travel plans of customers, as well as the assignment of the teams, under the best possible conditions.
But for now, we wish all our G.Ms, G.Os, G.Es and partners, and also to everyone, strength and courage in these particularly difficult times.
