Tibet tour 2009 cancelled

Oslo, 31 October, 2008.

Dear Acem traveller,

It has been very encouraging to notice the great interest surrounding the Acem Travels tour of Tibet. Unfortunately, we regret to inform you that we will be unable to arrange the tour in the way originally planned.

We have long known that we were running a risk by choosing to travel to a politically sensitive area, and while this risk has not increased, it is still present. In addition, the economic basis for the tour has worsened dramatically during the past few weeks.

Not only are we in the midst of a deep and world-wide financial crisis; we are also in the unfortunate situation that most of the expenses relating to the tour are payable in currencies that have increased in value (US dollars, Chinese yuan, Taiwan dollars), while most of the income is in a currency whose value has decreased considerably (Norwegian kroner).

Because of the complexity of the tour, the price has been higher than we would have liked to, and the margins were small even before the economic turbulence. Given the recent changes, the price would have had to increase even further. In the present economic situation, it would be difficult both for individual travellers and for Acem as a voluntary organisation to set aside the amounts needed to cover the costs, especially since there is always a risk of further economic or political changes.

This is, of course, a great disappointment both for travellers who were looking forward to an exciting adventure and for those of us who have spent several months planning the tour. Still, we hope you will understand that the current situation does not allow us to arrange the tour according to our original intentions.

The retreat in Taiwan will be arranged as planned and will certainly be a great experience in itself. The location is fantastic, and the opportunity to mingle with meditators from another culture in their own environment is exciting. Taiwan is a wonderful and exotic place to travel, and in the near future, you will receive information about possible travel arrangements there. While we realise that this will hardly make up for the loss of an opportunity to travel to Tibet, it will at least provide a highly interesting and more affordable alternative.

On behalf of Acem Travels,

Halvor Eifring                                                                                              Karen Breen
tour leader                                                                                         administrative leader