On January 27, 2012 a travel company Lanta Tur has announced its inability to sustain financial obligations. The announcement has affected over 4,000 tourists who have recently bought a tour with the operator.

      Russian tourists in Vietnam, in particular, have been locked in the hotel, since no payment for the rooms have come through, and the hotel owners therefore demanded that expenses are paid by tourists themselves. Most of them have had their passports confiscated.

      Four Russian citizens managed to escape the hotel and left for the airport in Saigon. One of them described the holiday as "the most extreme" in his Twitter.

      Similar problems are encountered by Russians in India, particularly in the popular Goa area. According to a LiveJournal blogger, there are some 400 tourists currently in this area, and for many of them visas are due to expire, which is a criminal offence in India. Sadly, a Transaero aircraft that was due to transport the tourists this morning has not left the airport, being registered in the name of Lanta Tur. Om Travel tour operator is currently trying to assist the Russians trapped in Goa.

      Meanwhile, Russian tourists in Bali have not yet experienced any problems, and the Bali consul has assured Russia that its citizens will be back safe. However, it is known that Lanta Tur have rarely booked and paid for hotels in advance, and that on occasion the tour company booked accommodation directly, without a recourse to the local tour operator. It is still possible that Russians will encounter problems in Bali, too.

      The expenses and damages are expected to be covered by the Ingosstrakh Insurance Company. The helpline is also opened for all the clients who have incurred damages. The company has asked its clients to withdraw from taking a tour that starts after January 27, to escape possible inconveniences.

      According to Kommersant, Lanta Tur, although a reputable company on the Russian foreign tourism market, has suffered from the unfavourable industry conditions, particularly, dumping. Many companies, including Lanta Tur, have to rely on bank credits to sustain their activity. Sadly, Master-Bank, to whom Lanta Tur filed a credit request, have refused to provide the credit, causing the company to stop the business. The sum of the credit is assumed to be around 30mln RUB (751.5EUR).

      Source: Kommersant, RBC.ru, Dolboeb.livejournal.com, KM.ru. Image courtesy: Lenta.ru.