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DEL.ICIO.USGoing to Jacksonville for Gator Bowl?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Across my desk today came a caution for Georgia Tech fans planning to visit Jacksonville for the Gator Bowl on New Year’s Day: Be careful where you buy your bowl packages. You could argue that the caution, from a reputable network of travel agencies, is somewhat self-serving. But they make a good point: There are lots of scam artists out there ready to take your money with promises of tickets they can’t, or won’t, keep.
Are you planning to make the trip to Jacksonville and do you have your tickets yet? Did you get a good deal you could recommend to others? Have you ever been burned by ticket scalpers? I’ve only been to one bowl game in my life, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, when Arkansas was playing in the 1970s. The package was well organized, but low-end — we went on a bus for at least a 10-hour one-way trip, and fans started celebrating with adult beverages early in the day. It was quite a ride.
Here are some tips the travel professionals think you should know about when booking: If the advertisement, brochure or other solicitation material for a tour package to a bowl game does not specifically mention a game ticket, it probably is not included. The U.S. Department of Transportation does not allow tour operators to advertise or offer packages which include game tickets, unless they have the tickets in hand or a written contract to provide tickets. If an operator of a special event tour does not provide an event ticket to a participant as advertised, the participant is entitled to a refund of the total tour package, without penalty. If the price of the tour package increases more than 10 percent after a booking is made, the consumer may cancel a booking and obtain a full refund, without penalty. The price of a special event tour package may not be increased within 10 days of departure. Fans should get information about the tour package and operator in writing, book their travel through a reputable travel agent or tour operator affiliated with a professional organization and consider paying by credit card, which offers some protection under the fair credit practice law.
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