22 September 2008

Gay operator collapses with 200 abroad

Specialist gay operator Lidana has had its ATOL bond of more than Ã&#pound;108,000 called after ceasing trading

The failure follows on swiftly after the XL Leisure Group and was partly caused by the majority of its flights being provided by XL Airways, ABTA said.

There were around 200 holidaymakers abroad, about half who flew out on packages covered by the ATOL scheme following the XL failure.

They will be able to continue with their holiday arrangements.

There are also nearly 1,000 travellers with forward bookings.

The Civil Aviation Authority was called in on Friday to protect holidaymakers booked with the company which traded as Respect Holidays and Wildwind Holidays.

The company had an authorisation for 3,568 passengers and had provided a bond of Ã&#pound;108,623, which has been called.

The operator is the fifth to fail in the past two weeks following Seguro, XL Leisure Group, K&S and another gay travel company, Throb Holidays.

Lidana ran inclusive holidays to Gran Canaria, Tenerife, Ibiza, Sitges and Mykonos.

The company also sold a number of accommodation-only holiday arrangements for which there is no legal obligation to provide financial protection, ABTA said.

The CAA is making arrangements for holidaymakers abroad to complete their holidays and fly back to the UK as planned.

But those with advance bookings will not be able to travel and need to make a claim for a refund of their lost holiday.

Andrew Roberts, CEO of leading gay travel specialist Amro Worldwide, said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe have been saying for some time that consumers should always consider the financial security of their bookings with any travel company.

"The collapse of a long respected competitor, Respect Holidays, in the UK gay travel market is a great shame.

"We do think that in this time of the credit crunch, consumer security becomes even more important than ever.

"We would urge all travel consumers - whether lesbian, gay or mainstream - to always be sure that their travel agency is bonded with ATOL before booking their travel," Roberts added.

"Do not be fooled if your supplier says that they are 'fully bonded' - this is not enough. What consumers must be sure of is that the supplier and their websites state categorically that they are ATOL bonded.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThat is what the travel industry in the UK views as the industry standard of consumer protection."

Andrew Jones, sales and marketing director for leading gay operator Mantrav International Group said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe are deeply shocked by the news that following XL Group going into administration, that Throb Holidays was forced to close and that now we learn that Respect Holidays has also closed.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThrob and Respect have both been valuable parts of the gay community, helping to arrange travel to gay destinations and all over the world for gay travellers.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœIt is a great shame that they have both now been forced to close.Ã¢â¬~

by Phil Davies