"Natalie Tours" finished poisoning Russians on vacation

In the 26-year history of "Natalie Tours", one of the most famous domestic tourist brands, the point is put. Natalia and Vladimir Vorobyov lost the last company, which can still send customers abroad.
14.09.2018
RBC
Origin source
On Wednesday, September 12, the LLC "Center for Tourism" Soglasie "was replaced by the owner, it follows from the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities: instead of Denis Yarov, Ksenia Mostovskaya became the owner. The center of tourism "Soglasie" is the legal agency of the tour operator New Travelers. It, as indicated in the Single Federal Register of Tour Operators, can engage in outbound tourism. The responsibility of "Accord" is insured in Ingosstrakh by 50 million rubles.

Now the site New Travelers does not work. But earlier on it was information that this newly established company is part of the group "Natalie Tours". About the launch of an independent company that will handle VIP clients, in April this year in an interview with the industry publication Hotline.Travel told the president of "Natalie Tours" Vladimir Vorobyov. Founding LLC "Center of Tourism" Soglasie "Denis Yarov also acts as the owner of" Panorama Tour "LLC, in the last two years of the main legal entity" Natalie Tours ". But the actual owners of the group were its founders Natalia and Vladimir Vorobyov.

New Travelers has a new investor, Vladimir Vorobyev confirmed. Ksenia Mostovskaya in writing answered RBC's questions. She refused to clarify the amount of the transaction, citing confidentiality. The company will continue to engage in outbound tourism, and in the first months of the new owner will be advised by Vladimir Vorobyov. Until now Mosty had no business in Russia, it follows from the data of the SPARK base. "I was engaged in a child and spent a lot of time abroad," Mostovskaya said.

What does this mean

The founders of "Natalie Tours" Natalia and Vladimir Vorobyov lost their last asset in the tourist business. September 3 Rosturizm excluded from the register three companies that worked under this brand: Panorama Tour LLC, Travel Agency Natali LLC and Tour Operator Natalie Tours LLC. The first two companies sent customers abroad, the latter engaged in domestic tourism. The department has made such a decision, because the tour operator has not been able to fulfill its obligations under the contracts for several months already.

Financial problems of "Natalie Tours" became public in the end of June. At first the tour operator canceled unilaterally all tours with a charter transportation, then - suspended all programs until October.

Why the withdrawal of Natalie Tours from the market attracted such attention

In recent years, "Natalie Tours" was no longer a major tour operator. Three legal entities that could send tourists abroad, in accordance with the law "On the basics of tourist activities in Russia" informed Rosturizm that in 2017 served only 22.6 thousand customers, sold them tours of 466 million rubles. For comparison: in 2013 the number of clients of "Natalie Tours", according to its own data, reached 950 thousand people, and the turnover exceeded $ 1 billion.

But even sharply lowering in recent years turnover, the company still remained one of the most popular tourist brands. By the end of 2016, the brand of "Natalie Tours" was known to almost 36% of all Russians who live in large cities and at least once a year traveled abroad, led by RBC last September the data of the research company Ipsos Comcon. A great brand recognition was only for Tez Tour, Coral Travel and Pegas Touristik.

The financial problems of the well-known tour operator gave birth this summer to the question of how well the domestic outbound tourism market is and whether the situation in 2014 will repeat, when large travel agencies were ruined one after another. Because of the cheap ruble, expensive kerosene and lack of attractive special offers from hotels, the season was not easy, the tour operators continued to work.

What is the reason for the financial problems of "Natalie Tours"

"If your business can only exist in the conditions of a growing market, then when the market falls and your turnover goes down, there is a cash gap and you do not know how to cover it," explained Vorobyov four years ago in an interview with RBC the reasons for the massive collapse of tour operators in the summer of 2014 of the year.

That difficult season, "Natalie Tours" went through relatively well, although Vorobyov admitted: "It does not happen that someone is good, but someone is bad. Unfortunately, we are all interconnected ".

Fatal for the tour operator was the next year - 2015-th. That fall, due to obvious financial problems, the authorities were forced to suspend the activities of Transaero, a key partner of Natalie Tours and many other tour operators. It follows from the court materials that the debt of Natalie Tours to Transaero exceeded $ 5.8 million, whereas the carrier officially owed the tour operator only 777,000 rubles. (approximately $ 11.6 thousand at the rate of the Central Bank in September 2015). In fact, the debt of Transaero was significantly higher, but this could not be documented, and the collapse of the airline provoked a cash gap in the "Natalie Tours", RBC told sources close to the tour operator. Since 2016, the tour operator has sharply reduced its turnover, in 2017 the bankruptcy procedure of LLC "Natalie Tours" (now OOO Novella Tours) was launched, which was replaced by Panorama Tour LLC.

What did Natalie Tours remember?

In the previous decade, the tour operator was the undisputed leader in the Spanish direction. This was primarily due to cooperation with the Catalan Grup Serhs. That in its report for 2007 indicated that through the "Natalie Tours" is 68% of the total tourist flow to Spain.

But in the middle of the 2000s, Turkish tour operators came to the Spanish direction and began to press "Natalie" with their conveyor technologies, which in 2008 parted with Grup Serhs and, having enticed some of its employees, created its own hosting company. Vorobiev, however, up to the last insisted that the positions of "Natalie Tours" in Spain did not threaten anything. "If the direction of suddenly for some reason increases the share of state employees who go with shopping bags at hotels 2-3 stars cheaply, it is clear that we are not very worried about this. We strongly begin to worry when we are crowded out of hotels 3 +, 4 and 5 stars, "- said the president of" Natalie Tours "in 2014.

"Natalie Tours" became the first tour operator, which introduced financial guarantees for agencies - retailers of tours. Industry legislation provides for a mechanism for financial support only for tour operators, but Natalie, not wanting to answer to clients for the mistakes of its counterparties, back in 2006 demanded monetary guarantees from them. However, then the company refused this practice, but it was adopted by other tour operators.

The "Natalie Tours" and its loud provocative statements became famous. In November 2015, when the Turkish military was shot down on the border with Syria by a Russian fighter, Natalie Tours, without waiting for the recommendation of the Foreign Ministry and Rosturizm, announced that it would stop selling tours to Turkey, although the company did not actually work in this direction. A week later, Natalie sent a letter to the agencies, urging them to stop cooperation with Turkish tour operators who "launched an unprecedented dumping war on the Russian tourist market and at the moment are massively selling tourist packages at prices well below their average market value."

What consequences will care have

Ingosstrakh will receive documents from clients of three legal entities "Natalie Tours", which Rosturizm excluded at the beginning of the month from the register. Most of the contracts were drawn up at OOO Panorama Tour, whose liability is insured for 50 million rubles. As of September 11, the insurer has already accepted more than 2.6 thousand applications in the interests of almost 6.4 thousand injured clients of "Natalie Tours", the Association of Tour Operators of Russia reported.

In the summer at meetings in Rosturizm Vorobyev stated that 700-800 million rubles were needed to restore the activities of the tour operator. That is, the guarantees of Ingosstrakh on all the injured tourists "Natalie Tours" will not be enough: clients will receive only a part of the compensations they are entitled to. Thus, the law "On the fundamentals of tourist activity in the Russian Federation," seriously revised after the massive collapse of tour operators in 2014, will not again protect tourists.

Can the founders of "Natalie Tours" get back to the tourist business

The current edition of the branch law prohibits holding senior positions in tour operator companies for those who already held important positions (general director, his deputy, chief accountant, etc.) in companies excluded from the Uniform Federal Register of Tour Operators.

Natalia and Vladimir Vorobyov at the time of deletion from the register were neither leaders of Panorama Tour LLC nor Travel Agency Natali, which were engaged in outbound tourism. But Rosturizm stopped its activities and LLC "Tour Operator" Natalie Tours ", which engaged only in domestic tourism. His general director is Vorobyov. Thus, he can not officially manage any tour operator company.

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