TRN continues to share with its readers the opinions of market experts regarding the current situation with tour operators Natalie Tours and DSBW. Yulia Kolesnikova, CEO of Casablanca Travel Boutique, analyzes the reasons for the incident and addresses the leaders. both tour operators from the entire travel agency community.
"The current situation is a major blow to the market; it undermines trust in the entire industry and in us, the agencies, especially when it is being created by one of the biggest players in the tourism market.
The collapse of Natalie Tours and DSBW was inevitable: tourists were failing to check in, especially over the past two years, which directly indicated debts to partners abroad, and therefore financial problems.
In this situation, I'm outraged by why our tourism authorities and communities, aware of the problems facing NT, haven't spoken up about them; why have regulatory agencies allowed and continue to allow large tour operators to accumulate such large debts to host companies, airlines, and, finally, to them; and why is there still no monitoring of tour operators' financial solvency?
Let's delve deeper into the problems of these operators, and why all this happened. My opinion may be biased, but I believe these companies haven't passed the "copper pipe" test. At some point, both Mr. Vorobyov and Mr. Goncharov decided that the brand would provide them with the necessary sales volume and didn't need agencies as partners. Now they're reaping the fruits of their short-sighted policies.
Moreover, there comes a point when it seems success has been achieved and will last forever. It's very difficult, being a leader in the early 2000s, to then realize you're no longer in the top tier. It's difficult to comprehend reality, difficult to adapt to the new reality, and difficult to avoid engaging in dubious races for leadership and to say "stop."
It's also hard to decide for yourself that it's not volume that matters, but profit. I think that's precisely the problem.
It's scary to think about the problems that will now arise for many agencies, including those authorized by NT, which are tied to 100%'s product and serviced a vast subagent network. It will also be difficult for regional agencies, who simply had no choice.
I feel very sorry for both company owners, but only in the context that they have built the wrong system of coordinates and priorities.
I would like to address Mr. Vorobyov first and foremost, because his sales volumes and the number of tourists and agencies affected by this unpleasant situation are much greater than those of DSBW.
Mr. Vorobyov, on behalf of the travel agency community, I ask you not to change your version of payments every day. You need to be honest about where flights are paid for and where they are not, so that agencies holding tickets for scheduled flights don't suddenly learn of cancellations at departure and, in addition to repaying ground transportation, be forced to reinvest in the flight. I also ask that you not force agencies to split the tour into tickets and accommodations, depriving them of any future hope of compensation from the Personal Liability Fund and the insurance company.
I want to ask for integrity—from both Mr. Vorobyov and Mr. Goncharov. I know it's very difficult to fall, but to remain in this market, as respected individuals, it's important for you to behave like gentlemen. If there are problems, you need to be honest about them so your agency partners can prepare tourists. If people pay for services again and don't fly anywhere, that would be dishonest to your agents.
If the tickets are actually paid for, the passengers must fly. There should be no cancellations, since the tourists paid for the service. If the money is not refunded, then you have no right to cancel the tickets, regardless of whether the travel agency manages to submit requests to hold the tickets. If the tickets issued are unpaid and you don't intend to do so, say so!
God has been kind to me, and the recent bankruptcies have passed me by. After the collapse of Kapital Tura, I fully experienced all the problems of a travel agency working closely with a major tour operator, and this school of life taught me a great deal. For example, the following: if precedents of clients not checking in arise, I instruct them to suspend sales with that operator, and then completely stop booking tours with that company.
Source: trn-news.ru