140 LEGAL IMPACTS OF COVID-19 IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY During the state of emergency, certain rights and freedoms may be limited for the time and to the extent necessary, the ones that are most relevant for the tourism sector are as follows: Czech citizens and foreigners living in the Czech Republic are, at the moment, not allowed to leave the country (with some exceptions), and a similar ban applies to foreigners who would like to come to the Czech Republic and do not have permanent or a long-term temporary residence; all stores are closed except for grocery stores, sanitary, pharmacies, fuels and similar; there is a ban on the gathering of the public in food-service establishments, with the exception of establishments not serving the general public; sellers of travel services are allowed to operate only online; provision of accommodation is forbidden, with some exceptions; and all persons are prohibited from moving and staying in any place outside their home, without respiratory protective equipment. The Czech Government is planning to gradually relax the restrictions, but we do not yet know when the borders will be open again, both for incoming and outgoing tourism. III. WHAT DO THE LIMITATIONS MEAN FOR CZECH TOUR OPERATORS? Both Czech incoming and outgoing tourism today equals zero, which leads to Czech tour operators having currently zero income today and experiencing uncertainty about the future. Unfortunately, the lack of income is only part of the problem. Czech tour operators are under constant pressure from travellers, who are asking for a full refund of their payments for travel packages. Czech tour operators have already utilised most of their financial resources to pay their partners at the destinations or the transport companies, partners who are paying back the Czech operators in credit vouchers. As an attorney working for many tour operators, the author of this article has come across the following question: In the current COVID-19 situation, do the tour operators have an obligation to refund all their customers? By trying to answer this question, three types of situations have been identified: 1) Clear situations;
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