FTI, one of Germany's largest tour operators, has announced that it has filed for bankruptcy. It has been stated that the company's operations with Turkey and Egypt will be affected, and it has been emphasized that tourism professionals need to act in collaboration with sector representatives.
German tour operator FTI, one of the largest in the country, has announced that it has filed for bankruptcy. The company's top management and German authorities had been in talks all weekend about partially writing off the company's debts, but no agreement was reached. Tourism professionals evaluating the impact of FTI's bankruptcy on the country emphasized that it would not be easy to fill the company's place, as it primarily operated in Turkey and Egypt. They stated that sector representatives needed to act together for the company to survive.
In a statement by FTI, it was announced that bankruptcy applications had been made to the Munich Local Court as of June 3 for all companies except Sonnenklar TV and the German travel agency chain TVG, which are not part of FTI Touristik GmbH.
SENT MANY TOURISTS TO HOTELS IN TURKEY
Hamit Kuk, referring to the fact that FTI, which sent many tourists to hotels in Turkey and had collaborations, had been in a serious financial crisis for a long time, said, "We knew that it was one of Germany's top 4 operators and had been in a serious financial crisis in previous processes. So we are sorry because FTI was a specialist tour operator for Turkey. It was Germany's fourth largest tour operator, sending predominantly passengers to Turkey and Egypt. As Turkish tourism professionals, we are sorry, of course, there will be other problems in the long run due to this situation. Because there are debts to the hotels in Antalya and the Aegean region in addition to the debts to other suppliers. These debts are not the only problem, there will also be a gap due to being a specialist for Turkey. Our experiences so far have always shown that when tour operators sending passengers to Turkey from abroad go bankrupt, their vacancies cannot be filled immediately, it takes at least five to ten years of effort. Therefore, FTI's bankruptcy has two types of damage, one is the debts to the supplier companies here, and two, this company is a company that sends over 1 million passengers to Turkey. It will not be easy to bring back 1 million passengers to Turkey through other companies in the coming years."
"APPOINTMENT OF A TRUSTEE CAN BE SEEN AS A POSITIVE APPROACH"
Hakan Saatçioğlu, President of the Professional Hotel Managers Association (POYD), stated that the crisis FTI experienced was discussed at the ITB Berlin tourism fair they attended last March. Saatçioğlu pointed out that FTI was a very important tour operator for Turkey and stated that it would be the right approach to handle the issue calmly.
Saatçioğlu said, "Problems with FTI have been talked about for a long time, and at the last ITB Fair, the uncertainty of FTI's financial situation was one of the main topics. It is very important for tourism professionals to approach the issue of FTI and Meeting Point, which are very important tour operators for Turkey, with reason and without panicking. No matter how much debt they have to hotels, they need to handle the issue rationally. As hoteliers, I think it is important for us to act together with sector representatives for FTI and Meeting Point to survive. Currently, 1 million reservations have been made through FTI worldwide. It is very important for us to act smartly without panicking about FTI and Meeting Point guests who are currently staying in our hotels and those who will come in the future. It is important for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and AKTOB to determine how we will proceed with future reservations. We should learn from what we experienced during the negative process with Thomas Cook before. We do not know how the Carters group, which has acquired FTI, will approach the issue, or how the German government will officially proceed. We can see the possibility of a trustee being appointed to FTI as a positive approach."