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Ascent Travel clients seek information on compensations for failed tours

Tourists show interest in how and when they can be paid back

MOSCOW, July 22 (Itar-Tass) - The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) has begun receiving calls from clients of Ascent Travel, which stopped the activities.

ATOR said its legal service received calls from tourists day and night. Tourists show interest in how and when they can be paid back.

According to the Ascent Travel leadership, the company will be unable to fulfil its obligations this season because all tours are annulled. Tourists will be paid back by all applications, the company’s leadership said.

The tour operator has starting paying back. ATOR said the company had paid back several millions of roubles. Totally, Ascent Travel intends to return over 20 million roubles.

ATOR said the tour operator was insured by AlfaStrakhovanie Group at the sum of 97 million roubles and by “Pomosch” Insurance Society (47 million roubles).

In order to get money a tourist should make up and give an application to an insurer where it is necessary to specify the name of a traveller, the tour operator’s name, the number of a contract and its date, as well as data on the circumstances proving the company’s default on the commitments. Payment documents, a written certificate on the tour operator’s default on commitments and a contract copy between a tourist and a tour operator should be attached, ATOR said.

An insurer obliges to consider and satisfy a tourist’s application within the 30 working days, it added.

On July 18, Ascent Travel declared it stopped selling tours to Croatia and Montenegro and will pay compensations to tourists on its own without the aid of an insurance company.

The Ascent Travel leadership explained that the tour operator had taken this step due to the situation on the market. Chairman of the board of directors Boris Burykin said, “Tours are sold below cost and the tour operator is unable to afford it.”

Ascent Travel is one of the major tour operators, which has worked on the market since 1992. The tour operator organizers tours to Croatia, Montenegro, Italy and France. In addition, the company also offers tours to Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Slovenia.

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