Another travel firm folds

November 20th, 2009
Holiday Options, an operator that specialised in Mediterranean breaks, has gone into administration after 16 years. According to the Atol-bonded company, which also offered trips to Cape Verde and the Azores, no British holidaymakers have been left stranded and all 1,100 forward bookings have been taken over by Light Blue Travel, a Cambridge-based operator.
The collapse follows a report the Office of National Statistics this week which showed that the number visits abroad made by British travellers in the year to September, fell 14 per cent to 60.8 million. The travel industry is bracing itself for a flurry of failures over the coming weeks. Earlier this month Plimsoll Publishing, a leading travel industry analyst, predicted that nearly 300 tour operators could collapse or be taken over in the next year. Consumer groups fear could lead to a repeat of the situation last October when thousands of Britons were stranded abroad following the collapse of XL, which was then Britain's third-largest tour operator.
More than 30 airlines have collapsed this year, but International Passenger Protection, a leading insurer, claims this number could rise over the festive period owing to rising fuel prices, increased Air Passenger Duty and the wider global recession. Holiday travel insurance may provide protection against the collapse of an airline failing or a tour operator folding. Not all travel insurance policies will offer this but some insurers offer Passenger Protection Insurance sold separately or part of a travel insurance policy but always check the small print if this is offered because these are quite often restrictive in their cover.