Penza, 6 August 2014. PenzaNews. Penza tourists affected by the actions of tour operators that suspended their operations are currently in a desperate situation, said head of travel agency “TurDom” Anton Kupryushin on Wednesday, August 6.

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He told news agency PenzaNews that different kinds of tourists found themselves in a difficult situation: those who have just bought vouchers, who have already gone to the resorts, those who have returned, as well as those who are staying abroad and cannot fly back to Russia.

“As a matter of fact, the functions of a travel agent end when he hands in the travel documents. Therefore, travel agents are in no hurry to help their customers. The most that many are ready to do is commission refund, but that's a pitiful sum,” the agency interlocutor said.

He drew attention to the fact that insurance companies, the offices of which are now besieged, are in no hurry to accept documents from the tourists.

“I can speak about VSK company, where citizens are received on a pre-registration list. The reception is carried out by only a single person. Our tourists will be received in a week, and this is just the first stream of people from among those who have not yet departed,” Anton Kupryushin said.

According to him, it is highly possible that Penza tourists will not receive any compensation.

“Rosturizm [the department of Russian tourism] has already said that if we divide the insurance fund of 140 million rubles to all the tourists who have suffered from the actions of the tour operators, the people will get two thousand rubles. That is 2% of the tour price, roughly speaking,” Anton Kupryushin said.

He stressed that the current situation strongly affects the flow of people wishing to spend holidays abroad.

“Firstly, we are afraid to send tourists abroad at all. The day before yesterday we refused to sell the vacation package to the Maldives, because I am not sure that the next tour operator would not go bankrupt. There is negative information about some of them that says they soon will close down too. Secondly, the flow of tourists, of course, decreased sharply. Moreover, people who have already acquired vouchers come back to us in order to return and exchange them for Russian southern resorts,” the agency interlocutor said.

However, he expressed doubt about the fact that the risks associated with traveling abroad will affect the Russians’ attitude to the holidays at the Black Sea coast.

“People who have ever been abroad will never go to our South. They would rather give up any trips and spend their vacations at home, in the country, or in sanatoriums,” head of the travel agency said.

According to him, the officials care little about the position of tourists affected by tour operator bankruptcies.

“Regional authorities are not helping the citizens. They still do not realize how many Penza residents remain abroad and cannot return. There are still no lists. Regional authorities do not realize how many tourists could not depart for Russia. Moreover, the authorities have not taken any measures to encourage insurance companies to at least accept the documents. This is a huge problem. And we are talking about big money for Penza,” Anton Kupryushin summed up.

Over the past few weeks a few tour operators suspended their activity. Among them are CJSC “Company “Neva,” LLC “Roza vetrov Mir” and LLC “RV Mir,” LLC “Labirint” and LLC “IntAer.”

Among those affected by the actions of one of the tour operators is Albert Ibraev actor of Penza Lunacharsky Drama Theater. He said he was ready to lead the initiative group of citizens to defend the rights of tourists.