In recent news, FTI Touristik has had all of its booked trips canceled. This announcement came after the creditors’ committee declared that all trips planned from July 6 onwards would be cancelled. Despite efforts from the German Travel Insurance Fund to settle reimbursement claims with other tour operators, no solution was found to take over the package tours. As a result, 175,000 package tours and individual services booked through FTI Touristik GmbH, BigXtra Touristik GmbH, and the sales brand 5vorFlug were canceled.
FTI’s travel agency partners can now offer customers alternative trips as they begin informing customers, travel agencies, and hotels about the cancellations. The total volume of existing travel bookings is estimated to be in the high three-digit million amount. Deposits made by package holidaymakers will be refunded by the Travel Guarantee Fund, ensuring that every package holidaymaker will get their money back.
Customers who booked individual services like flights, hotels, and transfers through FTI are not entitled to a refund from the DRSF. However, the future of approximately 230 TVG travel agencies has been secured as Raiffeisen Vertriebs GmbH takes over FTI’s share in the Touristik Vertriebsgesellschaft TVG.
In light of this situation, it is important for FTI customers to have planning security before the start of their summer holidays so they can rebook their trips with other providers immediately. While this decision may cause inconvenience for many travelers, it is a necessary step to protect customer interests and ensure their refunds.
