Tourists left stranded and agencies face huge losses as Australian-owned tourism company collapses during busy holiday period
- Travel company Excite Holidays went into voluntary administration on Friday
- Local travel agents said they will have to cover expenses for stranded clients
- The company is one of a number of travel agencies folding in recent months
Travel company Excite Holidays has collapsed into voluntary administration, leaving tourists stranded and agencies out of pocket.
The company, a wholesaler for travel agents, withdrew last year from the Australian travel accreditation scheme that provides a backup for customers when companies collapse.
Excite Holidays allegedly sacked a number of staff just before Christmas and told even more staff to take an extra week leave and turn their phone off.
Travel company Excite Holidays has collapsed into voluntary administration on Friday leaving tourists stranded and agencies with out of pocket (stock image)
The company, a wholesaler for travel agents, withdrew last year from the Australian travel accreditation scheme that provides a backup when companies collapse (stock image)
A message on the company’s Facebook on December 30 said the company was experiencing system issues.
‘Both our system and customer service teams are working through these issues now to ensure we can service our agents as quickly as possible,’ the company wrote.
‘Please bear with us as we manage the situation at hand.’
One Australian travel agent told Travel Weekly they would be out of pocket by $50,000.
Multiple small agencies also indicated they would have to pay similar five-figure sums to look after their clients left with worthless bookings.
Agents also claimed the wholesaler had been unresponsive to their phone calls.
Elizabeth Ellis, of Cherrybrook Travel, told Travel Weekly she had customers who were stranded in New Zealand, Thailand and Japan after their bookings were cancelled without warning.
Ellis said her agency was forced to cover the accommodation out of their own pocket and estimated they would have to pay about $25,000.
Excite Holidays is one of a number of local and global travel agencies to fold in recent months including Tempo Holidays, Thomas Cook, and Bentours.
A message on the company’s Facebook on December 30 said the company was experiencing system issues
Excite Holidays is one of a number of local and global travel agencies to fold in recent months including Tempo Holidays, Thomas Cook, and Bentours as the market shifts