The tourism business, like any other, is subject to many risks, and companies often close due to loss making. But when a small travel agency stops working, the consequences are not as impressive as when a large tour operator announces its insolvency. That is why, when the Versa travel agency suspended its activities, it caused serious unrest in the market.
About company
LLC "Versa" began to work in 1999. It was one of the largest tour operators in St. Petersburg and in the northwestern part of Russia. The tour operator offered the opportunity to relax anywhere in the world. Depending on the capabilities of clients, he offered budget European bus tours or group excursions. And also the staff could help organize a real dream vacation fordiscerning customers for whom price didn't matter.
Before the Versa tour operator suspended its activities, it not only provided outbound tourism services of varying complexity for ordinary tourists, but also offered various programs for corporate tourism companies. In addition, the company was engaged in domestic tourism and acted as a host in organizing visits of official delegations to the cultural capital.
2014
2013 was almost a record year for outbound tourism. And few expected that 2014 would become a nightmare for many travel companies and citizens who have already purchased tickets. A sudden crisis and a sharp rise in the price of the currency did their job, as a result, many small agencies and several large players were forced to leave the market.
Not only the tour operator "Versa" suspended its activities, and as a result, vacations were ruined for more than 130 thousand people. Luckier were those who were able to fly away and found out about the problems at the end of the vacation. Although the difficulties with paying for the hotel and waiting for information on how and when you can return to your homeland can hardly be called luck. Some have learned that they are not going anywhere, being at home and looking forward to a long-awaited trip. Moreover, it was possible to return the cost of the tour, but the procedure took time, the money was not returned immediately and not always in full. So the vacation was ruined anyway.
Versa's departure
Petersburg tour operator "Versa"suspended work on September 15, 2014, leaving about 9 thousand vacationers abroad and selling tours for the coming months for another 6 thousand people. According to the company, it decided to close only outbound tourism, but was ready to work on receiving guests, as well as develop the domestic direction. Versa added to the list of numerous large companies from St. Petersburg that declared their insolvency in 2014. Given that financial guarantees totaling 210 million rubles were provided by three insurance companies, the management of the company was not worried about the fate of the affected tourists.
Conflict with Tourist Assistance
After the tour operator "Versa" suspended its activities, he announced his actual inability to take out his own tourists from their places of rest. The company turned to Turpomosch to return people back at their expense. The Tourist Assistance Fund is created at the expense of funds contributed by market participants involved in outbound tourism. Thus, in case of insolvency of one of the companies, the financial burden falls on others. The position of "Versa" outraged many, as the company closed only outbound tourism, leaving domestic tourism to generate income. At the same time, she was not going to bear responsibility to her clients and decided to shift it to others. The management of the company was given the condition of the immediate cessation of all activities. In order to continue operating, the company had to deal with the problems of returning itsclients from other countries. Then the tour operator "Versa" announced a complete suspension of activities. The company directed its remaining finances to the export of people, the shortfall was compensated by Turpomoshch. According to the fund's estimates, 3,000 tourists who did not have their return tickets needed real help.
As predicted by many analysts, the St. Petersburg company was the last among those who left the tourism business in 2014. Taking into account the fact that the tour operator "Versa" actually suspended its activities at the end of the season, there was no need to expect new shocks in this market soon.
