Tour operator Natalie Tours is currently doing everything possible to rectify the situation and resume operations in the Russian tourism market, RIA Novosti reports, citing company president Vladimir Vorobyov.
The main legal entity of the tour operator "Natalie Tours" is Panorama Tour suspended charter programs for tourists to Barcelona, Rimini, Catania, Naples, Antalya, and Heraklion on June 30, and on July 4, announced the cancellation of all tours for the period from July 4 to September 30, 2018, inclusive. Several weeks ago, the company began to lack funds to make timely payments to suppliers, a situation its management attributes to a number of factors, including an inaccurate cash flow assessment and a decline in demand for European tours.
"Natalie Tours has existed in the market for 26 years, in one form or another. Millions of Russian tourists discovered their international vacations with our company. It's not even a question of me, as the owner, being sad to lose certain assets, but it's a tremendous shame that a company with such a history could leave the market. "The team will suffer, but most importantly, the tourists will suffer," Vorobyov commented.
The agency's source explained that the company currently operates in three main areas. "First of all, we receive materials from tourists and agencies and create a registry to assess the extent of the accident. Then, when the opportunity arises, we can begin making payments," he said.
Vorobyov added that, since the company was quite large, optimization became the second focus. "We need to tighten our grip to survive the current situation. This means we're downsizing our staff, closing some offices—that's how we focus on crisis management," the source continued.
"I'm currently working on the third area myself. To return money to tourists, we need to restart operations. Therefore, to do this, we need to find funding. I can't say the amount of funding right now, as the situation is still being assessed. I'm meeting with various interested parties, and I'm offering them access to the business and commercial loans so that Natalie Tours can restart its operations," the company's president commented.
He also reported that, in addition to this, the tour operator is preparing a quarterly report on the company's activities for government agencies.
Source: trn-news.ru