A leading Welsh travel operator is cancelling multiple trips to Italy amid concerns about the coronavirus outbreak.
Edwards Coaches, which organises holidays in Europe and worldwide, made the decision following advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The Llantrisant -based company, which has depots across South Wales, said it would cancel seven holidays to Italy due to depart in April and May, but would continue to monitor the situation with regards to holidays departing from June onwards.
A spokesman for the company said: “Edwards would like to reassure our customers that we are closely following the Foreign and Commonweath Office (FCO) for the latest travel advice across Europe and in the UK.
“On March 9, the FCO updated their advice advising against all but essential travel to Italy due to an ongoing outbreak of coronavirus in line with various controls and restrictions imposed by the Italian authorities.
“We have therefore made the decision to cancel those holidays to Italy departing to the end of May, 2020.
“The health and safety of our customers is of paramount importance and their wellbeing is at the forefront of any decisions we are making now and in the future”.
Edwards, which also provides buses for school transport and for the Wales rugby and football teams, has depots in Abercynon , Wattstown, Barry , Newport , Cardiff , Llanelli and in Llansamlet in Swansea .
The company said customers booked on any of its cancelled Italian holidays would receive a full refund, or if they wished to transfer their booking to a different holiday, they would receive a 15% discount.
Neath -based travel company DJ Thomas said it had not cancelled its planned holiday excursion to Lake Garda in June.
While, Cardiff-based travel Leisuretime said its tours to Italy did not depart until June, and the company would continue to monitor the situation.
No-one was available from Midway Motors in Pembrokeshire to comment on its planned trip to the Italian island of Sardinia next month.
