Turkey specialist collapses
Turkey specialist Elixir Holidays has ceased trading with around 300 forward bookings.
The London-based operator, which was set up in 2004, was ATOL protected and holidaymakers will be refunded.
Elixir featured luxury, adult-only and family boutique hotels and villas in resorts on the Mediterranean coast, including Kas, Kalkan, Patara, Faralya and Datca, the Hillside Beach Club in Fethiye, the D-Resort Hotel in Gocek, and weekend mini-cruises.
It offered transfers from Dalaman Airport in a luxury fleet of brand new BMWs and Mercedes.
The company was set up by Ali Zafer Barchman, who, according to Best of Turkey magazine, was known in the 1980s for ‘bringing the first English tourist to Kas’.
Andy Cohen, head of ATOL, said: "At one of the busiest periods for booking holidays, the collapse of Elixir Holidays is a timely reminder of why holidaymakers should make sure their trip is ATOL protected and that they receive an ATOL certificate, as soon as they’ve booked their trips.
"As a result of the ATOL protection scheme, customers of this business have the peace of mind they will get a full refund and not lose their hard-earned money."
The CAA has published advice for anyone affected by the collapse of Elixir Holidays and a claim form is on its website.
Turkey’s tourism has been hit by bombings in its major cities, making holidaymakers nervous about travelling there.
On Wednesday, 28 people were killed when a car full of explosives went off in its capital Ankara and in January 10 tourists died in a suicide bombing in Istanbul.
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth office said Turkish authorities had tightened security but warned there could be further attacks affecting places visited by foreigners.
Earlier this month, TUI Group reported a 40% drop in summer holiday bookings to Turkey and Thomas Cook revealed it had cut its capacity to Turkey by 29% this summer.
This week Mark Warner confirmed it was pulling out of the destination altogether.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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