Tours do not peck money

In the tourism market - a sudden collapse: seven tour operators declared their bankruptcy one after another. Tens of thousands of people who had already managed to pay for trips lost money. What is happening and is there a way out?

Queues and documents - this is how Labyrinet clients now spend free time /photo: Igor Kurushin

At the entrance to the Moscow office of the Labyrinth Turkish company on Tsander Street near VDNH - a crowd weary of the sun. People hold their “main argument” in their hands - folders with contracts and payments. “Let them burn in hell” - they almost pronounce in chorus at the exit from the office of Ekaterina and Andrei, Labyrinth clients: “Not only do we get one hundred thousand, but they will not give us our passports in any way! Where will you go now? "

Catherine and Andrey - from Balashikha near Moscow. A ticket to Greece was arranged through an intermediary, who told them that a “labyrinth” would be a tour operator. When they went to the office, they already learned from the news about the bankruptcy of the solid travel company Neva. “We still asked - how will it not work with the Neva? This is not one -way ticket? " - says Andrey.

It turned out how they looked into the water. They didn’t get that “one -way ticket” - they simply “presented” their money to the Turk components, which by that time had already been in his ears in debt.

Waiting for the aircraft

“We learned about the bankruptcy of the Labyrinth from television agencies on Sunday,” says the 26-year-old Muscovite Alena, who, together with her future spouse Alexei, planned to spend a honeymoon in Greece, “and on Monday I called the office through whom we made a tour: we didn’t hear anything there at all.” Alena and Alexei were saved for vacation for several years. Now on the accounts of the "Labyrinth" there are 250 thousand rubles.

Those who have not paid a return ticket are stuck abroad. And some, on the contrary, go to their homeland, never having had time to rest. The 72-year-old Muscovite Valentina Pavlovna, along with hundreds of other Russians, was literally deported from Tunisia: we paid the trip to the Labyrinth, but the agency gave the hotel only half. ” Instead of two weeks, Valentina Pavlovna with her granddaughter rested on the Mediterranean Sea for only seven days: “The hotel manager says:“ Go away, go home. ” Another and even worse: the neighbors managed to stay in the country only at night. ”

But a resident of Lyubertsy, Elena Nefedova, is still resting on the island of Rhodes, although the time of paid vacation has long happened: “By the decision of the Greek side at the hotel we were left until the plane arrived behind us,” Elena told the magazine. “Now there are three families here, problems only with tickets and a transfer to the airport.”

Where does the crisis come from?

In addition to the “Labyrinth” and “Neva”, the “impossibility of fulfilling obligations to customers and partners” in early August was announced by five more tour operators: “Winds Rosa Mir”, “Ideal Tour”, “Expo-Tour”, “Nordic Star” and “Intaer”. What's happened?

The interlocutors of The New Times in the tourism industry make it clear that the clouds were approaching for a long time: the market is falling this year, the situation is already worse than in the crisis 2009. Then, according to Rosturism, the fall of turret abroad amounted to almost 16 %. The official data of the departments for the first quarter of 2014 confirm the overall trend: the number of trips to rest abroad decreased by 4 %compared to the same period last year. As the first vice-president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Vladimir Kantorovich, who had expired for six months, according to preliminary estimates, had lost up to 30 %over the past six months, told The New Times. Among the reasons are the weakening of the ruble, the fears of citizens that they will not be given a visa and they will be lost on already paid vouchers. They are also afraid that Europeans, after the accession of Crimea, will no longer be so affectionate with guests from Russia.

Other experts remind: the current crisis is far from the first in the industry, it happened before. But at the same time they make it clear: the only decline in demand due to client fear of “inhospiting Europe” will not be limited to.

Ordered to "rest"

On July 16, the Neva opened the parade of the “falling” travel agency, which earned, according to open reporting, 3 billion 684 million rubles. According to ATOR, in mid -July, more than 6 thousand tourists rested along the Vouchers of the Neva abroad.

Neva is one of the oldest and largest travel agencies in the country. And then - a sudden collapse. Why?

The director of the company Maxim Pirogov openly called one of the interviews “The ban on traveling abroad to the security forces”. Most likely, Pirogov had in mind the closed April order for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, allegedly overlapping the traveling abroad hundreds of thousands of real (and potential) customers of the Neva (and only the “Neva”?) - and the outflow of clientele made itself a fatal way in July. Could this be?

The chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Moscow Police Department of the Moscow police, Mikhail Pashkin, agree with this argument only partly. In a conversation with The New Times, he confirmed: in the regions, unlike the capital, the police really stopped going abroad. In Moscow, according to Pashkin, the authorities are better, and the laws are respected: "No one canceled the freedom of movement guaranteed by the Constitution." But the fact that the security forces are recommended to use certain travel agencies, Mr. Pashkin did not hear anything.

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"Shamanov is unlikely to threaten something serious, they will ask him well"

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One way or another, in connection with the “Neva”, the theme of people in uniform arose quite naturally. The travel company itself was founded in 1991 by a native of the KGB Office for Leningrad and the Leningrad Region Vladimir Strelkovsky. In the mid-2000s in one interview, Stryzhalkovsky said: while still in the KGB, he “worked tightly” with the “Intourist” and the Bureau of International Youth Tourism “Sputnik”-because, they say, he decided to debut in the tourism market. In 1999, the founder of Neva is already in the government, where for nine years in different positions he oversaw the tourist industry. Then, however, he returned from the civil service to the business again.

Strelkovsky’s partner and co-founder of Neva Sergey Timraliev-according to Spark-Interfax, he now owns the company through Neva International Holding APS (Denmark)-in the 80s he also worked in the “satellite” and “Intourist”: their paths with Stvilkovsky naturally crossed.

The source of The New Times in the tourism industry assures: the leadership of the "Neva" climbed into debt, counting on the help of the state. But instead of assistance, the company received a criminal case instituted by the Investigative Committee (SK) on charges of fraud. On August 7, it also became known about the initiation of four more criminal cases-against the “Labyrinth”, “Roses of the Winds of the World”, “Ideal Tour” and “Expo-Tour”. In relation to two more ruined companies, a check is being conducted.

Tourists VS insurers

The collapse of the “Labyrinth” was still truly unprecedented for the Russian tourism industry: according to the ATOR, 25 thousand people were abroad in unpaid hotels and without return tickets, and about 57 thousand people can be the total number of victims.

Unlike the Labyrinth office at VDNH, there is almost no queue for the building of the VSK insurance company. In a spacious lobby, 20 employees work - on Tuesday they managed to accept statements from 1,700 people. In the first days after the declaration of bankruptcy of Labyrinth, the crowd literally stormed the OSK office: according to eyewitnesses, it reached almost a fight.

Muscovite Anastasia Kolomatskaya, who lost 324 thousand rubles in the Labyrinth, managed to leave a statement in VSK: “But they didn’t even numbered it, and I don’t know how to register it there.” Kolomatskaya, she said, is in an initiative group who is now looking for a lawyer and collects signatures to file a lawsuit against the head of the Labyrinth Mikhail Shamanov and Rosturism. In general, Anton Lemchenko is engaged in the coordination of the actions of deceived tourists - now, instead of a planned trip to Dubai, he is forced to look for lawyers, first of all, for injured customers from regions who cannot come to Moscow themselves. In addition, Anton organized on social networks the collection of signatures under a petition to Rosturism, SK and President Putin: “700 people have already signed.”

And here, the theme of the State Special Clinic, the theme of the state specialist, is again wedging in the story with the collapse. According to Anton, he has unconfirmed information that the Labyrinth and the companies affected by him had existing contracts with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Special Strage. Then why bankruptcy? Also because of a sharp outflow of customers?

Riddles "Labyrinth"

The first thunder thundered when on Friday August 1, the Orenburg Airlines Airlines announced the abolition of 36 charters with Labyrinth tourists for the weekend and Monday. The next day, on Saturday, the travel agency announced the suspension of activity. Answering the New Times, acting The heads of Rosturism Oleg Safonov retold the content of his conversation with the general director of Aeroflot (the owner of the Orenburg Airlines) Vitaly Savelyev. He called the amount of the Labyrinth debt to the airline - more than one and a half billion rubles. According to Safonov, the air carrier categorically refused to transport customers of the Turk compartment and even postpone his decision for at least a couple of days.

“Orenburg Airlines” can be understood: by early August, they had already sent about a hundred unpaid aircraft to the resorts. The vice-president of the Russian Union of Trade, Sergei Korneev, told The New Times: to put tourists on a plane on a debt is a common practice in the relationship of the carrier and tour operator, but "the amount of debt of one and a half billion rubles is inexplicable." And Oleg Safonov even shared confidence with The New Times: such relationships can no longer lie in a purely economic plane.

According to Mr. Safonov, although in fact, the owner of the Labyrinth and the associated airbreaker “Ideal-Tour” is Mikhail Shamanov, and other owners have legally for both companies. This, by the way, is confirmed by the base of Spark-Interfax. According to Mr. Safonov, from Wednesday August 6, Mikhail Shamanov stopped in touch, "although there are a number of questions to him."

“Now not just tour operators will bankrupt, but the whole chain of firms associated with Shamanov, and he himself ultimately.”

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The press secretary of the Russian Union of Trade, Irina Tyurina explained the New Times, how the scheme works when the actual and legal owner of the travel agency is not one and the same thing: “For example, there is a trademark“ Aviacarter ”, under which different legal entities related to Mikhail Shamanov are registered. At the same time, Shamanov himself is legally nowhere. Thus, now not just tour operators will bankrupt, but the whole chain of firms associated with Shamanov, and he himself ultimately. At the same time, Shamanov himself in the country may no longer be. ”

But why bankrupt the "chain"?

The head of the National Anti-Corruption Committee, Kirill Kabanov, in a conversation with The New Times, suggested: Shamanov decided to get out of the business due to an unfavorable situation in the market (during the “Crimean” trip to a long-term foreign foreigner around the special line)-and simply “threw” customers and partners. It turns out that the first to understand this was the "Orenburg Airlines" and Mr. Savelyev. However, Kirill Kabanov doubts that the possible judicial claims against Shamanov have reached the goal: “He (Shamanov) is unlikely to threaten something serious, they will ask him well.” True, who and why will “ask” - the interlocutor of the magazine did not specify.

Dumping and pyramids

Polina and Olga are two successful blondes in bright dresses. Each has in their own travel agency through which the vouchers of the Labyrinth were resold. Now both are forced, firstly, at their own expense to pay for customers rest in another place, and secondly, to demand that the employees of the Labyrinth passport of customers.

The Labyrinth openly dumped the market, on average they had the cost of the vouchers at 15 thousand, ”Polina and Olga say. - Where did such prices come from - the devil knows ... "

However, both immediately express confidence: all the activities of the Labyrinth were most likely a banal pyramid: "Subsequent customers, in fact, paid for those who are traveling in front of them."

The collapse of the seven travel companies at once, the interlocutors of the magazine are sure, nothing good promises the market - the increase in prices has already begun: “On the day of the default, Labyrinth re -registered tourists, and instead of the usual 50 thousand. For the ticket, the price was already 57,” says Polina. According to her, in the near future prices will rise by another 20%.

In addition, default in the tourism market will negatively affect the overall reputation of the industry abroad. “The same Greeks will no longer trust and refuse to book hotels at the request of our operators,” says Dmitry, director of the travel agency from Kolomna near Moscow. “After all, after all, they still have lived on prepayments, or rather, at the promises of payment, but now the abroad will demand to fully pay the tag.” So the increase in prices is inevitable and for this reason.

“In my city out of 40 companies, half suspended activities, we are afraid to get into a lot of money again!” - says Dmitry. He does not believe in the possibility of tour operators to return their money: "The chance to get a tenth is zero spent back - before it was necessary to think and insure business, as is customary in the banking sector."

And what about the state? The measures offered to them are not given originality. After two weeks, the bill on the reform of the tourism industry will be ready, the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky promised on August 6, in whose subordination is also Rosturism. And he immediately clarified: we are talking about toughening the accreditation rules for companies, transferring control functions over tour operators and mandatory insurance for customers.

... According to information on August 8, posted on the site of the ATOR, the total amount of requirements for the company VSK, which insured Labyrinth, may amount to 1.5–2 billion rubles. This means that tourists will be able to receive compensation in the amount of about 10% of the cost of tours.

*As of August 8