The bankruptcy of the third largest tour operator in Europe – the German "Ef Te I Group" (FTI Group), will affect the vacation of nearly 20,000 Germans to Bulgaria, which is the annual volume of the concern for our Black Sea.
This was announced by the Association of Incoming Agencies in Bulgaria (AIA), which unites the representatives of major foreign tour operators in Bulgaria, TravelNews reported.
Tourists will likely be redirected to other German tour operators selling the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast - TUI, DER Touristik, Alltours and Schauinsland-Reisen. All of them together complete common charters to Burgas and Varna. Of course, there is a possibility that some tourists will give up on Bulgaria.
„The FTI seats on the flights will quickly be taken by other German tour operators, as there is a shortage of aircraft from Germany to Bulgaria,”, the association said. The same will happen with the places in the hotels along our Black Sea coast, which were worked with by FTI. The Association of Incoming Agencies reported that a 120% increase in online bookings from Germans to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast has already been noticed since yesterday. They are redirected to alternative online platforms.
FTI Group filed for bankruptcy with the Munich Regional Court yesterday. The reason for the bankruptcy is a decrease in bookings, as well as numerous claims for advance payments from suppliers, which the company cannot fulfill. Partner travel agencies suffered from this, as well as hoteliers and all businesses related to the reception of tourists.