A leading European tour operator, FTI Touristik GmbH is filing for insolvency on Monday, June 3, 2024 and other companies in the group will file for insolvency in the coming days in order to continue its operations, as announced earlier this morning by MONEY & TOURISM . According to well-informed sources, the FTI GROUP does not include the TV channel sonnenklar.TV and TVG with its German travel agency franchises, which operate under the names sonnenklar.TV, 5vorFlug and Flugbörse. For all customers of the travel agency group, a telephone hotline for direct contact and a website with frequently asked questions has been set up.
FTI Touristik GmbH, the parent company of the FTI GROUP as the third largest tour operator in Europe, will file an application for the opening of insolvency proceedings at the Munich Local Court on Monday, 3 June 2024. Initially, only the tour operator brand FTI Touristik is directly affected by this. Subsequently, however, corresponding applications will also be filed for other Group companies. Windrose Finest Travel GmbH with the luxury brand WINDROSE will continue its business.
The independent companies Euvia GmbH and its travel shopping channel sonnenklar.TV as well as the franchise system of Touristik Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH (TVG) with its brands sonnenklar.TV Reisebüros, 5vorFlug Reisebüros and Flugbörse do not belong to the FTI GROUP.
After a lengthy and complex investor process, the entry of a consortium of investors was announced in April 2024. Since then, however, booking figures have fallen well short of expectations despite the positive news. In addition, numerous suppliers have insisted on advance payment. As a result, there was an increased need for liquidity, which could no longer be bridged until the closing of the investor process. The filing for insolvency has therefore become necessary for legal reasons.
It is worth noting that, according to reliable information, the tour operator has paid almost all of its debts to Greek hotels, which were enough, with the sole exception of some hotels in Crete.
Market sources believe that the move by the management of the well-known tour operator may be aimed at starting negotiations with the authorities in order to achieve a hair cut of the subsidy for Covid, as there is already “fresh money” in the fund, amounting to hundreds of millions of euros, with which important liabilities have been paid.
In any case, such a development, which will bring back memories of Thomas Cook – even though there are no accrued debts to the hotels as we are at the beginning of the season – which can only be bad for European tourism. And of course it will create “insecurity and irritation among customers”, as a source from a leading tour operator interviewed by M&T commented.
Supporting travelers affected by the consequences of the insolvency is now a top priority for the FTI GROUP. A support website has already been set up at www.fti-group.com/en/insolvency as well as a support hotline at +49 (0) 89 / 710 45 14 98. All relevant information can be accessed here and German- and English-speaking contact persons are available for individual questions. In addition to the full focus on customer support, the FTI GROUP will also keep its guests regularly informed together with the German Travel Security Fund (DRSF).
We are currently working hard to ensure that trips that have already started can be completed as planned. Trips that have not yet begun will probably no longer be possible or only partially possible from Tuesday, 4 June 2024. In cooperation with the (provisional) insolvency administrator yet to be appointed, a concept for the ongoing information of affected travelers and the operational implementation of the necessary measures will be developed in the coming days.
MONEY & TOURISM will follow the developments and keep you informed.
