The collapse of Europe’s third-largest tour operator has led to losses of over 111 million baht for Thai hotels, according to a Bangkok Post report.
The German FTI Group filed for insolvency in June, with some tourists left stranded and countless hotels out of pocket.
Now the Thai Hotels Association and the Tourism Authority of Thailand is submitting a letter to Thailand’s tourism ministry to request compensation talks with the German Embassy in Bangkok.
THA president Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun says most FTI holidaymakers in Thailand had already completed their hotel stays and paid FTI, but the hotels were unable to claim payment from the tour operator. It’s understood an FTI partner agency in Thailand has been in touch with the THA to ask hotels affected by the collapse to submit invoices for reimbursement.
The THA says that with online bookings alone insufficient for filling rooms, properties are reliant on tour operators, to whom they offer credit in order to get the volume of bookings they need. Faced with global economic uncertainty, Thienprasit says hotels may need to reduce the amount of credit offered or the duration of credit in order to protect themselves.
Meanwhile, TAT’s executive director for Europe says that as FTI’s precarious financial situation became clear, some hotels were able to quickly change to accepting prepaid bookings only from the tour operator. However, Chiravadee Khunsub adds that payments were suspended in many cases.
TAT’s European offices say they will now verify the credibility of tour operators if asked to do so by Thai hotels.
Chiravadee says FTI’s collapse is unlikely to affect the European tourist market for Thailand, as visitors can use other companies or booking sites to plan their trips.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
