Bulgaria specialist Balkan Holidays has ceased trading in the UK after nearly 60 years in business.
The operator’s Managing Director Alexander Stoyanov blamed tough market conditions for the decision to close just one year before the company would have reached its 60-year anniversary.
“It is really sad that the company should cease trading in the UK after all these years. The company is solvent, but it has become increasingly difficult to be competitive and profitable in the UK,” he said.
“Nobody will be left out of pocket and all suppliers will be paid and I thank them sincerely for their support over the years. I am really sorry to disappoint our loyal customers and the fantastic travel agents, who have booked holidays with us for this summer and beyond and have given us so much business over the years; all customers will be refunded in full.”
He paid tribute to the 19-strong London-based team of “fantastic, dedicated travel professionals” who will all be made redundant, but not immediately.
“We were hoping to celebrate 60 years in business next year, but it is not meant to be,” he added.
Travel agents have expressed their shock and sadness on Facebook’s Agent Rants and Raves.
Jenny Jackson, owner of Luxury Travel Guru and moderator of the Facebook page, said: “I mainly used Balkan Holidays for ski over my 26 years in travel. Balkan Holidays had a unique product, and I am really sad for the lovely staff who have always been great.”
Balkan Holidays ran a summer programme flying into Bourgas and also chartered its own flights to Sofia for skiing and snowboarding holidays.
It also offered holidays to Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Malta and Northern Cyprus, with departures from 17 UK airports.
At its peak the company carried over 130,000 passengers in a single year. Bookings were approximately 45% trade and 55% direct in the summer and 20% trade in the winter.
“Bookings by travel agents were a very important channel for Balkan Holidays and they invested heavily in the trade,” said a spokeswoman.
It was one of the first ATOL holders in the UK with a licence number of 0252.
While the UK business is closing, Balkan Holidays will continue to operate in other countries, including Switzerland and Denmark.
