TERMS

maldives-surfing.com

General travel conditions / general terms and conditions

1. Conclusion of the travel contract / customer obligation
1.1. With the reservation (travel registration), the customer bindingly offers the conclusion of the travel contract to the tour operator. Basis of this offer are the travel description and the additional information provided by the tour operator for the respective journey provided these have been made available to the customer.
1.2. Travel planner (e.g. travel agencies) and service providers (e.g. hotels, transportation companies) are not authorised by the tour operator to make arrangements, supply information or make any assurances that may modify the travel contract agreed upon or that exceed the services the tour operator has pledged to provide in the contract or that contradict the travel description.
1.3. City, hotel or internet prospectuses that have not been published by the tour operator himself are not binding for the tour operator nor his obligation to render services, unless by express agreement with the customer, these descriptions are made object of the travel description or are made content of the tour operatorʻs obligations to render services.
1.4. The reservation can be made verbally, in writing, by telephone, by fax or electronically (e-mail, internet). In the event of electronic reservations, the tour operator immediately confirms receipt of the reservation electronically. This confirmation of receipt of the reservation does not yet confirm the acceptance of the reservation itself.
1.5. The customer is responsible for all contractual travel obligations concerning himself as well as companions for whom he has booked travel service, provided the customer agreed to this obligation through express and separate declaration.
1.6. The contract becomes effective once the tour operator confirms the booking. This confirmation is not bound to any specific form. Upon conclusion of the contract or immediately after, the tour operator will provide the customer with a written confirmation. He is not obliged to do so if the reservation is made by the customer less than 7 business days prior to the beginning of the journey.
1.7. If the content of the booking confirmation differs from the content of the reservation, then this is to be considered a new offer made by the tour operator to which he will be bound for a period of 10 days. The contract becomes effective based on this new offer if the customer expressly confirms to the tour operator to accept the offer and/or if the customer makes payment of the travel price within this binding 10 day period.

2. Payment
2.1. After conclusion of the travel contract, an initial payment of 20% of the travel price is due. The remaining amount is due no later than 4 weeks before the beginning of the journey and no later than the travel documents are issued and received. To protect the customersʻ money, the tour operator has taken out insolvency insurance cover (see paragraph 20). The customer receives the risk coverage certificate together with the travel confirmation.
2.2. If the the journey does not exceed 24 hours, does not include an overnight stay and if the travel price per traveler does not exceed € 75,00, payments on the travel price can be asked for even if the risk coverage certificate has not been handed over to the customer.
2.3. If the customer does not settle the payment of the travel price within the period agreed upon, the tour operator has the right to withdraw from the travel contract provided he has issued a warning in which a withdrawal deadline has been specified and to charge the customer withdrawal fees according to paragraph 5.
2.4. For short term bookings (i.e. bookings made within 14 days prior to the beginning of the journey), the full travel price is due immediately.

3. Modification to services / prices
3.1. Modifications of essential travel services agreed upon in the travel contract which become necessary after conclusion of the contract and that are made by the tour operator in good faith, will only be permitted if they are not considerable and do not affect the overall travel package.
3.2. Any warranty claims remain unaffected should the modified services prove insufficient.
3.3. The tour operator is obliged to inform the customer of any essential modifications to services as soon as the tour operator becomes aware of the reason to make these modifications.
3.4. If a considerable modification is made to an essential travel service, the customer has the right to withdraw from the travel contract free of charge or to take part in a journey of at least the same value provided the tour operator can offer such journey without any additional expenses for the customer. The customer must make use of these rights immediately after the tour operator declares the modification of a travel service or the cancellation of the journey.

5. Customer withdrawal prior to beginning of the journey / cancellation fees
5.1. The customer can withdraw from the journey at any time prior to the beginning of the journey. The tour operator must be informed of the withdrawal at the following address:
maldives-surfing.com
AUTHENTIPS GmbH
Kaufbeurer Strasse 8 1/2
87437 Kempten (Allgäu)
Germany
If the journey was booked through a travel agency, it is also possible to inform the travel agency of the withdrawal. We recommend that the customer declares the withdrawal in writing.
5.2. If the customer withdraws prior to the beginning of the journey or if he does not start the journey, the tour operator loses all claims to the travel price. Instead, the tour operator may claim an appropriate reimbursement for any travel preparations he has already made and his expenditures depending on the individual travel price provided he is not responsible for the withdrawal or if the withdrawal is a result of force majeure.
5.3. The tour operator has scaled this reimbursement claim chronologically, i.e. taking into consideration the closeness of the time of the withdrawal to the contractually agreed beginning of the journey generalised in a percentage proportion of the travel price and has considered any normally saved expenses and possibly other usage of travel service in the calculation of the reimbursement. The reimbursement is calculated as follows according to the date at which the withdrawal has been declared by the customer:
a) Air travel package tours with scheduled flights or chartered flights:
- up to 30 days before beginning of the journey 20%
- between the 29th and 22nd day before beginning of the journey 30%
- between the 21st and 15th day before beginning of the journey 40%
- between the 14th and the 7th day before beginning of the journey 50%
- from the 6th day before beginning of the journey 55%
- in the event of withdrawal on the day of departure or in the event of no-show 90%
b)Self-arranged travel within Europe:
- up to 45 days before beginning of the journey 10%
- between the 44th and the 22nd day before beginning of the journey 30%
- between the 21st and the 15th day before beginning of the journey 50%
- between the 14th and the 7th day before beginning of the journey 75%
- from the 6th day before beginning of the journey and in the event of no-show 80% c) Self-arranged travel outside of Europe:
- up to 60 days before beginning of the journey 10%
- between the 59th and the 30th day before beginning of the journey 50%
- between the 29th and the 8th day before beginning of the journey 75%
- from the 7th day before beginning of the journey and in the event of no-show 90% 5.4. It is the responsibility of the customer to prove to the tour operator that no or significantly lower damage has been incurred than the reimbursement fee claimed by the tour operator. The tour operator reserves the right to charge higher reimbursement fees than those specified above provided the tour operator proves that expenditures significantly higher than the individually applicable fee incurred. In this case, the tour operator is obliged to specifically list and prove verification of the claimed reimbursement taking into consideration the saved expenditures and any other potential use for the travel services. The statutory right of the customer to place a substitute participant in accordance with § 651b BGB, remains unaffected by the conditions listed above.

6. Changes to reservations
6.1 After conclusion of the contract, the customer has no claim to changes as to the date of the journey, the destination, the place where the journey begins, the accomodation nor the means of transport (changes to reservations). If a change to reservations is made nonetheless at the customerʻs request, the tour operator can charge the traveler a rebooking fee in the amount of € 50,00 per traveler up to 30 days prior to beginning of the journey. The customer shall also pay any demonstrably higher rebooking fees that may arise. From the 29th day before beginning of the journey, customer requests for changes to reservations can only be carried out by cancelling the travel contract in accordance with the conditions unter paragraph 5 and combined with new registration. This shall not apply to requests for changes to reservations that only involve minor expenses.
6.2. Up to 14 days prior to beginning of the journey, the customer can allow himself to be replaced by a third party in the making of the journey. Additional expenses that may incur herefrom are charged to the customer, however, a fee of € 50,00 will always apply. The tour operator can reject the change of traveler if that third party does not meet the respective travel requirements or if the change would conflict with legal regulations or regulatory standards.
6.3. Customer requests for changes to reservations that are made after the stated deadline can only be carried out after cancellation of the travel contract in accordance with the conditions stated in paragraph 5.2 and combined with new registration, provided that the tour operator agrees to such a request and provided that such a request is at all possible. This shall not apply to requests for changes to reservation that only involve minor expenses.

7. Services not used
If the customer does not make use of individual travel services duly made available to him for reasons attributable to him (e.g. due to early return from the journey or due to other compelling reasons), he has no claim to proportional reimbursement of the travel price. The tour operator will try to seek reimbursements for the saved expenditures from the relevant service provider. This obligation is inapplicable to fully insignificant services or if the reimbursement conflicts with statutory or official regulations.

8. Withdrawal due to failure to obtain the minimum number of participants
The tour operator can only withdraw from the travel contract due to failure to obtain the minimum number of participants,
    - if he has listed a minimum number of participants in the respective travel     description as well as the point in time by which the traveler must be informed     prior to the beginning of the journey contractually agreed-upon and
    - if he clearly lists the minimum number of participants in the travel confirmation     as well as the latest date of possible withdrawal or refers to the relevant details     in the travel description.
A withdrawal is to be declared to the customer no later than 4 weeks prior to the agreed beginning of the journey (the customer must not receive the declaration of withdrawal after the due date of the remaining travel costs, but in any event no later than 14 days prior to beginning of the journey).
If it comes apparent at an earlier point in time that the minimum number of participants cannot be reached, the tour operator is to exercise his right of withdrawal immediately. If the journey is not undertaken for this reason, the customer is immediately refunded any payments on the travel price.

9. Notice of termination for reasons of conduct
The tour operator can cancel the travel contract irrespective of any deadline, if the customer disturbs persistently despite being warned by the tour operator or if he shows such a contract-breaching manner that justifies the immediate termination of the contract. Coarse violations (criminal acts such as bodily harm, theft, drug consumption, willful damage to property) may result in immediate exclusion. If the tour operator cancels the journey, he retains the claim to the travel price; however he must deduct the value of the saved expenditures as well as of those benefits he obtains from using a service not called upon otherwise including any amounts credited to him by the relevant service providers.


10. Cancellation of the contract due to extraordinary circumstances
If the journey is significantly hindered, endangered or impacted due to force majeur that could not be foreseen when the contract was concluded, both the tour operator as well as the traveler can cancel the contract. If the contract is cancelled, the tour operator may claim reasonable compensation for travel services already rendered or still to be rendered in order to terminate the journey. Moreover, the tour operator is obliged to take all necessary measures for the return transport of the traveler, especially if the contract includes such a return transport. The additional expenses for the return transport shall be beared by the parties to one half. Otherwise, the traveler bears the additional expenses.

11. Customerʻs cooperation duties
11.1. Notification of defects If the travel package is not provided according to the contract, the customer may reclaim remedy. However, the customer is obliged to notify the tour operator immediately of any defect occured. If he culpably neglects to do so, a reduction of the travel price will not apply. This conclusion would not apply if the notification is clearly futile or is unreasonable for other reasons. The customer is obliged to immediately give his notification of defects to the tour management on the holiday resort. If no tour management shall be present in the holiday resort, the tour operator needs to be informed about travel defencies at his registered office. The customer will be informed about the availability of the tour management/the tour operator in the service descprition or upon receipt of the travel documents at the latest. The tour management is instructed to provide relief, given that is possible. However, the tour management is not authorised to validate any claims made by the customer.
11.2. Setting a deadline before notice of termination Shall a customer wish to withdraw from the travel contract due to a travel defency as outlined in § 615c BGB or § 616e BGB or if the journey is not reasonable for the traveler for a reason obvious to the tour operator, the customer is to give the tour operator a reasonable period of time to try to correct the problem. This does not apply if remedy is not possible or rejected by the tour operator or if the immediate withdrawal from the contract is justified by any particular interest of the customer recognisable to the tour operator. 11.3. Damaged and delayed baggage In the event of damage or delay in the delivery of baggage after flights, the tour operator recommends that the customer immediately notifies the respective air carrier at the airport by submitting the Passenger Irregularity Report (PIR). Airlines usually refuse to provide reimbursement if the Passenger Irregularity Report has not been completed. In the event of damage, the Passenger Irregularity Report has to be submitted within 7 days and in the event of delay within 21 days after the issue date. Moreover, the loss, damage or misdirection of baggage shall be reported to the tour management or to the local representative of the tour operator.
11.4. Travel documents If the customer shall not receive the necessary travel documents (e.g. plane ticket, hotel vouchers) within the time period given by the tour operator, he shall inform the tour operator.

12. Limitation of liability
12.1. The tour operatorʻs contractual liability is limited to three times the tour price given that the damage is no damage of the body, as far as the damage was not caused intentionally nor grossly negligent or as far as the tour operator can be held responsible for a damage to the customer solely due to the fault of one of the service providers.
12.2. The tortuous liability of the tour operator for property damage not based on wrongful intention nor gross negligence is limited to three times the tour price. This maximum liability coverage is per customer and journey. Potential claims to baggage in accordance with the Montreal Convention are not affected by this limitation.
12.3. The tour operator is not liable for defaults in service, personal injuries or property damages connected to services which were only arranged as services rendered by an outside party (e.g. excursions, sport events, theatre visits, exhibitions, transport services from and to the advertised place of departure and destination), if these services have been explicitely identified in the travel description and in the booking confirmation as external services stating the arranging contractual partner so clearly that they are discernible to the customer as not being part of the travel service provided by the tour operator. The tour operator is not liable for local occurences such as weather conditions, snow conditions, traffic jams.
However, the tour operator is liable for - services including the transport of the customer from the advertised place of departure to the advertised place of destination, interim transport during the journey and accomodation during the journey, - if and as far as the damage suffered by a customer results from the tour operatorʻs failure to fulfill his obligation to inform, explain and organise.
12.4. The tour operator is not liable for the sports equipment of the customers such as snowboards, skis, etc. The customer is liable for equipment of any kind rented from the tour operator. In the event of damage or theft, a compensation needs to be paid.
12.5. The tour operator is not liable for damages self-inflicted by he customer during a program/course or harm caused by the customer to the equipment entrusted to him or to other persons. This shall apply also to equipment connected to the program/course.
12.6 The offered programs/courses mainly take place outdoors and under difficult or even very difficult circumstances. Unfavorible weather conditions, such as rain, snow, fog or dust can make the circumstances even more difficult. The exercised programs/courses place special demands to the material used as well as to the physical fitness and technique of each customer at each level. Thusfor, each customer is asked to participate using only impeccably serviced equipment as well as standard safety equipment and to make a realistic estimate about his personal performance ability. In the absence of such safety equipment, the tour operator reserves his right to exclude the customer from the program/course. Participation without safety equipment is as the customerʻs own risk. As snowboarding, skiing, surfing etc are considered to be high risks sports and as therefor, accidents and damages can never be fully exluded, the following conditions apply to the participation at all programs/courses: All claims for damages towards the tour operator regarding delay, impossibility of service, positive violation of contractual duty, fault at formation of the contract as well as unlawful act are excluded unless the damage has been caused by willfull violation or gross negligence.
The customer takes part in the programs/courses at his own risk. The tour operator is only liable for possible accidents or damages if he shall be held responsible for its cause but not if they are caused by other participants or if they are due to insufficient protective clothing or safety equipment.

13. Insurances
The customer participates at sports activities of any kind and similar activities which show particular risks (alpine dangers, (sport) injuries, etc.) at his own risk. Therefor, each customer is responsible for his own sufficient insurance cover (we recommend: Accident insurance including rescue and helicopter costs, travel cancellation insurance, liability insurance).

14. Exclusion of claims
The customer shall file any claims for failure of performance of the journey within one month after the contractually defined end of the journey. The claim shall be made to the tour operator within the deadline and to the address set out hereinabove in paragraph 20. After expiration of the deadline, the customer can assert claims only if he has been prevented from observing the deadline without actual fault. However, this does not apply to the deadline for notification of baggage damage or baggage delay in connection with flights according to paragraph 11.3. These have to be reported within 7 days in the case of baggage damage and within 21 days in the case of baggage delay after issuance.

15. Programs
By registering, the customer declares that there are nor medical reservations in respect to participating in respective trip programs. During the tour program, the customer must follow the instructions of the instructors and supervisors. Violations against these conditions will result in immediate exclusion without any rights to reimbursement. Customers who book a tour program must meet the respective requirements (constitutional, physical and psychological). Costs of services not used will not be reimbursed.

16. Limitation
16.1. Customer claims according to §§ 651c - f BGB resulting from infringements on life, body or health of the customer which stem from a culpably injury of an obligation of the tour operator or of a legal representative or agent through negligence or intent are subject to a two-year limitation period. This also applies to claims for compensation for other damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent culpably injury of an obligation of the tour operator or a legal representative or agent.
16.2. All other claims according to §§ 651 c - f are subject to a one-year limitation. 16.3. The limitation according to paragraph 16.1. and 16.2. is based on the day following the day the journey contractually ends.
16.4. If negotitations are in progress between the customer and the tour operator concerning a claim or the circumstances substantiating the claim, the limitation is suspended until the customer or the tour operator refuses to continue the negotiations. The limitation period shall expire no earlier than 3 months after the suspension ends.

17. Sources of information on the identity of the operating air carrier
According to the EU regulations concerning the information of the air passengers about the identity of the air carrier operating a flight, the tour operator is required to inform the customer of the identity of the air carrier for all transportation services to be made at the time the reservation is made. If at the time of the reservation the operating air carrier has not been terminated yet, the tour operator is obliged to inform the customer which airline will most likely operate the flight. The tour operator shall inform the customer as soon as he knows which air carrier will operate the flight. In the event of change of the air carrier announced to the customer as operating air carrier, the tour operator has to inform the customer immediately. He must immediately take all responsible steps to ensure that the customer is informed of the change as quickly as possible.
The ,black listʻ can be found on the following webpage: http://air-ban.europa.eu.

18. Passport, visa and health requirements
18.1. The tour operator will inform any citizens of a country of the European Union in which the journey is offered about regulations concerning passport, visa and health regulations before conclusion of the contract and of any possible modifications before the journey begins. Concerning nationals of other countries, the responsible consulate can give information. The provisions assume that there are no special circumstances concerning the person of the customer or any accompanying passengers (e.g. dual citizenship, statelessness).
18.2. The customer is responsible for obtaining and carrying any necessary travel documents, any necessary immunisations and for adhering to customs and exchange control regulations. Any disadvantages due to the non-observance of these regulations, e.g. payment of withdrawal costs, are at his expense. This does not apply if the tour operator failed to inform the customer adequatly and correctly.
18.3. The tour operator shall not be liable for the timely issue and acquisition of any visas necessary from the respective diplomatic representative if the customer has commissioned the tour operator with the procurement of such visas unless the tour operator culpably infringes his obligations.

19. Applicable law and jurisdiction
19.1. German law is solely applicable to the contractual relationship between the customer and the tour operator. This applies for all legal relations. 19.2. If in the event of complaints of the customer against the tour operator in other countries German law was not used for the liability of the tour operator, only Germany law will be applied with regard to legal consequences, especially with regard to the manner, extent and amount of the customerʻs claims.
19.3. The customer can only file a claim against the tour operator at the location of the tour operatorʻs offices.
19.4. For complaints filed by the tour operator against the customer, the customerʻs place of residence will determine the jurisdiction. For complaints against customers respective contractual partners of the travel contract who are commercial representatives, legal persons of public or private law or who are persons whose residence or domicile are unnkown at the time the complaint is filed, it is agreed that the tour operatorʻs offices will be the place of jurisdiction.

20. Tour operator
AUTHENTIPS GmbH
Kaufbeurer Strasse 8 1/2
87437 Kempten (Allgäu)
Germany
Managing directors: Jens Anselstetter, Heinz Löhle
Registered office of the company: Kempten (Allgäu)
Registry court: Kempten (Allgäu) HRB 13653
VAT ID: DE815313207
All prices include insolvency insurance, the insurance company is: Tourvers, Touristik- Versicherungs-Service GmbH

21. Ineffectiveness of individual conditions
The ineffectiveness of individual conditions of the travel contract does not result in the ineffectiveness of the contract as a whole. Instead of the ineffective regulation a respective effective regulation which gets closest to the will of the parties involved shall apply.