One of the largest travel agencies in Russia catering to the Greek market filed for bankruptcy, causing major problems in the transportation and accommodation of Russian tourists in Greece.
The agency «Labirint» announced to its customers that it stops operations immediately, but it will ensure the return of Russian citizens to their country.
“The official announcement of the suspension of Labirint activities will allow the “Turpomosch” agency to use money from the emergency fund for such an occasion, in order to aid Russian tourists to return home,” the agency reported.
It is estimated that about 15,000 to 20,000 Russian tourists are currently abroad, while 200,000 have prepaid their holiday until the end of September.
According to the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), in Greece there are currentlry 8,000 to 10,000 customers of the Russian tour operator.
The president of SETE Andreas Andreadis reported that Russian tourists can continue their holidays in Greece as a specific insurance agency of the Russian government will cover their expenses and compensations. Greek professionals operating in the tourism industry will also been recompensed.
The main reason behind the bankruptcy of Labirint are the significant financial difficulties after the shutdown of parent company Ideal-Tour, which owned 99% of Labirint shares and was one of the oldest operators in the Greek tourism market. Currently, the debts of Ideal-Tour are estimated at over 31 million euros, greekreporter reports.