Bulgarian Tour Operators Insist on PCR Testing Instead of Quarantine
PCR testing, instead of imposing quarantine, should be the guiding principle when traveling in and around the EU, bringing together all Member States in the Community.
Insurance company Armeetz has said that it is ready to accept refund claims from customers of Bulgarian tour operator Alma Tour which went out of business for an indefinite period Tuesday.
Problems with Alma Tour surfaced on 09 September, when close to 1,000 international tourists, most of them Russians, were stranded at Bulgarian Black Sea airports of Burgas and Varna.
Their flights were canceled by Bulgaria Air over what it claimed to be EUR 3.6 M debts from Alma Tour, which had booked the tourists' trips.
Alma Tour was reported to have filed for bankruptcy Tuesday.
Armeetz has reminded that Alma Tour's activity is insured for the sum of BGN 200 000.
Refund claims can be filed on the website of the insurance company and at its headquarters on 2 Stefan Karadzha Str, Sofia.
The total number of people whose trips have been cancelled is yet unclear, but unconfirmed reports put the figure at 2500.
If the sum of BGN 200 000 is not enough to cover all refund claims, the rest of the scammed tourists will have to seek their money from Alma Tour in court.
Insurance company Armeetz is majority-owned by Bulgarian industrial conglomerate Chimimport, whose portfolio includes companies like national air carrier Bulgaria Air and Corporate Commercial Bank (CCB).
In a Wednesday media statement, Chimimport refuted allegations that it intended to take over debt-ridden Alma Tour, insisting that it had shown patience to the systemic "financial irregularity" of the tour operator in its relations with CCB and Armeetz.
Chimimport is a major player in Bulgaria engaged in a multitude of business activities, including finance, acquisition and production and concentrated in finance and insurance, extraction of oil and gas and production and trading with petroleum products, processing and trading in grain and oils, chemicals and fertilizers trade, as well as air, river and maritime transportation.
Chimimport's eponymous predecessor was created as early as 1947 to facilitate Bulgaria's burgeoning chemical industry. It was transformed into a joint-stock company in 1990 and was registered as a holding company in 1997.
Chimimport is popularly known among Bulgarians as connected with the famous TIM group operating in northeast Bulgaria, especially second-biggest city Varna.
We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!
In an unexpected turn, Bulgaria and Turkey have been notably absent from the list of the ten cheapest European summer destinations for British tourists
Bansko, Bulgaria's premier mountain resort, experienced a surge in winter tourism, with more than 190,000 visitors flocking to its slopes during the season
Recent data from the German Tourist Board show a discernible trend, indicating an increased interest among Bulgarians in visiting Germany
In a momentous occasion marking the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the Schengen area by air and sea, Balchik Airport is set to witness a remarkable gathering of more than 20 planes from Romania
The flights will operate every Wednesday and Saturday.
As the Orthodox Easter coincides with May this year, Bulgaria is gearing up for an unprecedented surge in travel, predicts Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Analysis and Forecasting of the Information Environment in Tourism, in an interview wi
UN Happiness Report: Bulgaria's Astonishing Leap in Rankings
Bulgaria: 3 Regions With Lowest Life Expectancy - EU Report 2022