The second half of 2019 will undoubtedly be remembered by the market for the departure of one of the world's largest tour operators. Fortunately, Russian tourists were not at risk in this case.
On July 15, an extraordinary meeting of the Supervisory Board of "Turpomoshch" was held, During the meeting, the issue of the Association's head, Alexander Osauenko, was discussed. At the time, TRN sources reported that Mr. Osauenko's work had raised numerous questions from both the relevant department and the Ministry of Economic Development, as well as representatives of the tourism industry. However, ultimately, no personnel changes were made within the Association.
Also in July, the market was alarmed by news of the recapitalization of tour operator Thomas Cook. Even then, many experts expressed concerns about the company's future, but few believed the long-standing tour operator would completely cease operations.
Another pressing issue has become the problem of Chinese tourism in Russia. As representatives of the Primorsky tourism industry told the TRN portal, the situation with Chinese visitors to the region is simply catastrophic. Also in July, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev dismissed Nikolai Korolev, deputy head of the Federal Agency for Tourism. It's important to note that just a few days earlier, Life magazine published an article about the problem of Chinese tourism in Russia. The article mentioned both Mr. Korolev and his wife, Natalia.
In August, the Thomas Cook story took a new turn: Anex Tourism acquired almost 71,000,000 shares of the British Thomas Cook Group. A little later, it was announced that tour operator ANEX Tour plans to launch Mediterranean cruises on its own ship, the Saga Sapphire, as early as next year.
On August 15, Ural Airlines pilots saved dozens of lives when the airline's plane made a hard landing in a cornfield near Moscow. Damir Yusupov was the captain of flight U6178, and Georgy Murzin was the co-pilot. "It was thanks to their professionalism, composure, and coordinated actions that the plane was landed without tragic consequences," the airline's press service emphasized at the time.
Another noteworthy piece of news: at the end of August, a travel agency successfully sued a tourist for actual expenses incurred after the traveler canceled a previously booked tour paid for with the company's own funds.
In early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin drew attention to the problems of Chinese tourism in Russia. Furthermore, the head of state promised industry representatives to look into the matter.
On September 29, the market was rocked by news: the world's oldest tour operator, Thomas Cook, announced it was ceasing operations. On the same day, the Russian tour operator Intourist, whose shares were then owned by a British company, stated that the situation would not impact the company's operations. Biblio-Globus, whose acquisition by its "British colleague" was also announced in 2019, made a similar statement. At the same time, agencies also came out in support of Russian tour operators, launching a flash mob.
A month later, the name of Intourist's new owner became known: Turkish businessman Neshet Kochkar, owner of Anex Tourism and the second-largest shareholder of Thomas Cook Group, officially announced the signing of a deal to acquire the tour operator.
And already at the very end of the year, it became known that the ban on transporting groups of children over 10 years old on buses could be lifted.
Source: trn-news.ru