Another Russian travel agency collapses, 500 tourists stranded abroad

Another Russian travel agency wound up its business on Tuesday, leaving about 500 of its clients stranded abroad and depriving about 1,300 voucher holders of their vacation.
Clients of IntAer travel operator have joined the list of tourists who have suffered in a series of bankruptcies that have affected the Russian tourist industry in the past few weeks.
The travel companies Neva, Roza Vetrov Mir, Expo Tour, Ideal Tour and Labirint have all wound up their activities since mid-July. About 15,000 Russian tourists who have bought travel services from Labirint are currently waiting for their return to Russia.
IntAer said on its website on Tuesday that it had halted its business “due to a sharp fall in demand and purchasing power and the rise in the exchange rates of foreign currencies and the negative political situation.”
IntAer’s civil liability was insured at Reso-Garantia insurance company to the total amount of $1.7 million.

Russian Tourist Union spokeswoman Irina Tyurina said the union had already sent an inquiry about the number of clients affected by the suspension of IntAer’s activities.
The spokeswoman said IntAer was a small travel agency and therefore “the number of tourists who will be affected will not be so large as was the case with Neva or Labirint travel agencies, for example.”
Russian legislation requires all travel agencies to insure their civil liability for failure to honor their obligations to their clients and, consequently, all tourists who have bought services from the now bankrupt companies will get compensation payments.
Federal Tourist Agency spokeswoman Irina Shchegolkova earlier said that IntAer’s insurance exceeded the size of damage done to its clients and therefore “compensation will cover everyone.