The Ministry of Tourism is investigating the case of the tour operator “Robinson Tours“ EOOD, which ruined the vacation of Hungarian tourists on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. This was announced to TravelNews by the Minister of Tourism Ilin Dimitrov. “We are working on the case to see what happened“, he commented. The tour operator is registered in Bulgaria.
Dozens of Hungarians were left without a summer vacation on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, for which they had paid in advance. Their packages included a charter flight to Brugas and all-inclusive accommodation in hotels in Sunny Beach. On August 1, the Hungarians received an SMS: “Please do not go to the airport, unfortunately we are forced to cancel your trip”. It was just a day before the planned two-week vacation, Nikolay, a Bulgarian who has been living in Hungary with his family for decades, received this SMS from "Robinson Tours". The charter flight from Budapest to Burgas was canceled. The flight for Monday - from Debrecen to Burgas was also canceled.
Back in January of this year, Nikolay signed a contract with the tour operator for a plane trip from Budapest to Burgas and a vacation in Sunny Beach for his family. For a plane trip from Budapest to Burgas and back, with an additional fee of 120 euros for kerosene, transportation to the hotel, 14 nights in a hotel in Sunny Beach with an all-inclusive package, I paid a total of 3,540 euros for three people, Nikolay told OFFNews.bg.
After the cancellation of the trip, "Robinson Tours" did not answer our calls to their company phones. On the e-mail address we left for contact on August 2, we received a letter in which the tour operator refused the transportation and service under the contract, as well as that they would not answer phone calls. We have not received any other information from the tour operator, he explained.
The Hungarians with a ruined vacation in Bulgaria created a "Group for the passengers damaged by $Robinson Tours$" on Facebook. In a few days, the group gathered over 660 people. In it, the tour operator's clients report that after the canceled flights they contacted the hotels in Bulgaria directly and found out that their reservations had been canceled.
A number of Hungarian media outlets have published articles and reports on the case since Sunday. "Robinson Tours" EOOD is registered in Sofia with the manager and sole owner of the capital, the Hungarian Aron Jakoc. The tour operator has valid insurance with the "Axiom" Insurance Company. AD with a limit of 63 911.49 euros with a term until September 19, 2026, TravelNews' check of the register of tour operators at the Ministry of Tourism found. It is not yet clear how and when the money will be refunded to Hungarian tourists.
The Hungarian media outlet Index.hu notes that "Robinson Tours" (formerly a tour operator registered in Hungary) has already found itself in a difficult situation. In 2020, due to travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced the cessation of its activities, and passengers were to receive compensation based on insurance coverage. Later "Robinson Tours" has re-emerged on the Hungarian tourism market and announced offers for 2026, including charter trips to Bulgaria, writes Index.hu.
Miroslav Ivanov
Source: travelnews.bg