Bulgarian Tourists Went to Ohrid without Contract, Insurance

Society | September 6, 2009, Sunday // 10:27
Bulgarian Tourists Traveled to Macedonia without Contract, Insurance: Bulgarian Tourists Went to Ohrid without Contract, Insurance Special police divers search the area where a boat 'Ilinden' sank in Ohrid Lake in Macedonia. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian tourists, who were involved in the tragic accident in the Ohrid Lake in Macedonia Saturday traveled without a contract or insurance.

The information was reported by Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister, Traicho Traikov, who was at the Sofia Airport Saturday evening to meet the 38 survivors arriving on the government airplane.

15 Bulgarian drowned earlier on Saturday as the tourist boat Ilinden went underwater in the lake. 40 survived the accident, but the guide of the Bulgarian group, and the driver of their bus have remained in Ohrid.

"We should not let this just go by," Traikov said and pointed out a checkup of the legitimacy of the trip and its organization had already begun since the bus carrier company, allegedly, lacks a tour operator license. Another suspicious fact is that the group was accommodated in private homes in Ohrid, not in a hotel.

"If it wasn't for the swift action of the Bulgarian State, those people would still be sitting in Ohrid, pulling their hair," Traikov stated.

In the mean time, the Bulgarian information agency BTA confirmed the report that a checkup of the two companies involved in the case - "Solak" and "Klyunchev", had been ordered by the Economy Ministry and the Commission for Consumers' Protection.

An inquiry of the National Tourist Registry revealed that neither was registered as a tour operator, meaning they did not have the right to organize group or individual trips.

The Commission for Consumers' Protection is yet to find out who organized the trip and if requirements per the Tourism Act were fulfilled. If it is proven that the companies had conducted the trip without a tour operator's license the law provides fines of BGN up to 30,000 for lack of license, and BGN up to 5,000 for lack of contract.

Some of the people in the group informed the trip had been organized by Klyunchev's wife, so the checkup is also going to establish if she is a representative of a tour operator.

On Saturday, Klyunchev, who, reportedly, is in Ohrid, declined any comments for the media, except his declaration that he was not responsible for the accident caused by an old Macedonian ship.

The law mandates that tourists have a contract and medical insurance.

 

 

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Tags: macedonia, Ohrid, Ohrid Lake, accident, ship, sunk, survivors, tourists

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