{"id":1352,"date":"2025-04-25T10:26:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T10:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/?p=1352"},"modified":"2025-04-29T13:06:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T13:06:35","slug":"major-uk-travel-company-forced-to-shut-immediately-with-all-future-holidays-cancelled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/25\/major-uk-travel-company-forced-to-shut-immediately-with-all-future-holidays-cancelled\/","title":{"rendered":"Major UK travel company forced to shut immediately with all future holidays cancelled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The travel company had been in business for nearly 60 years (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A major UK travel<\/a> company has been forced to shut its doors, with all future holidays<\/a> under its service now cancelled.<\/p>\n

After nearly 60 years of providing package holidays<\/a>, Balkan Holidays has ceased trading as of April 24.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The operator, which launched in 1966,\u00a0specialised in Bulgarian<\/a> holidays and offered departures from 17 UK airports \u2013 more than any other British tour operator. It also ran trips to Croatia<\/a>, Montenegro<\/a>, Slovenia<\/a>, Malta<\/a> and Northern Cyprus.<\/p>\n

At its peak, the company served 130,000 travellers a year. However, in recent years, figures have dropped significantly, and the provider was licensed to carry just 27,817 ATOL-protected passengers in the year to the end of March 2026.<\/p>\n

Travellers currently on holiday with the provider will be able to complete their travels as normal, but anyone with upcoming bookings will have no choice but to accept refunds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re one of the holidaymakers concerned you\u2019ll find yourself out of pocket, customers who booked directly with the operator have been asked to contact them to arrange a refund. Those who booked trips via a third party or travel agent have been advised to contact the agent directly.<\/p>\n

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Fuel your wanderlust with our curated newsletter of travel deals, guides and inspiration.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The tour operator offered summer and winter holiday packages (Picture: Getty Images\/iStockphoto)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a statement shared on its social media<\/a> accounts and website, the tour operator offers its \u2018sincere apologies\u2019 to customers.<\/p>\n

It read: \u2018We regret to inform you that Balkan Holidays Ltd has, as of 24th of April 2025, closed for business in the UK. Clients currently on holiday will be unaffected.<\/p>\n

\u2018The company remains solvent, but has ceased trading, however all forward holiday bookings have been cancelled. All clients will be notified and refunded in full. May we kindly ask for patience as we process the refunds and appreciate your understanding.<\/p>\n

\u2018Thank you for your past business and please accept our most sincere apologies for the disappointment and inconvenience.\u2019<\/p>\n

Balkan Holidays Ltd UK managing director Alexander Stoyanov said that while the company is solvent \u2018it has become increasingly difficult to be competitive and profitable in the UK\u2019. <\/p>\n

In a separate statement he added: \u2018It is really sad that the company should cease trading in the UK after all these years.<\/p>\n

\u2018Nobody will be left out of pocket and all suppliers will be paid and I thank them sincerely for their support over the years. I am really sorry to disappoint our loyal customers and the fantastic travel agents who have booked holidays with us for this summer and beyond and have given us so much business over the years; all customers will be refunded in full.<\/p>\n

\u2018Based in London is a fantastic, dedicated team of travel professionals, some I have personally worked with since I joined the company 26 tears ago and unfortunately redundancies are unavoidable. We were hoping to celebrate sixty years in business next year, but it is not meant to be.\u2019<\/p>\n

Customers have already expressed their disappointment online. Under Balkan Holidays X post @ScottyThopre26 wrote: \u2018Absolutely devastated we WERE going in 36 days time! How are we meant to book anywhere now at this notice.\u2019<\/p>\n

Another @vonisred wrote: \u2018Such a shame our first two holidays abroad were with you. This was before all the big tour operators started flying to Bulgaria. We had a great time both times. Hope someday you come back to the UK.\u2019<\/p>\n

Another user @moorebhoy80 described the news as \u2018sad\u2019. They wrote: \u2018Balkan holidays were great value for money and never had a problem with them.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the only travel agency to close its doors in recent months. According to online data site Statista, there were over 4,200 high street travel agency shops in March 2019, compared to just 3,500 in June 2023, an 18% decline in five years.<\/p>\n

Guernsey-based travel agency Trafalgar Travel also closed down last month, after 42 years of business.<\/p>\n

Agency bosses said they made the \u2018very sad and tough decision\u2019 due to rising business costs and a significant shift to online holiday bookings.<\/p>\n

Metro<\/strong> has contacted Balkan Holidays for comment.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tKnow your rights: What to do if your holiday is cancelled\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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If your package holiday operator cancels your holiday, it\u2019s their responsibility to reimburse you for any parts of the holiday you booked through them. This typically includes flights, accommodation and activities, but not anything booked outside of that package.<\/p>\n

If you booked directly with the company, you\u2019ll need to contact them for a refund. If you used a travel agent or third party, speak to them instead. They will be responsible for processing your refund.<\/p>\n

Most UK package holidays are covered by the ATOL scheme (Air Travel Organiser\u2019s Licence), which means you\u2019ll be entitled to a full refund if you haven\u2019t yet travelled, or help getting home if you are already abroad.<\/p>\n

You are generally entitled to a refund within 14 days of the cancellation, according to Citizens Advice.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth checking your travel insurance too. Some policies may cover additional costs for cancellations.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The travel company had been in business for nearly 60 years (Picture: Getty Images) A major UK travel company has been forced to shut its doors, with all future holidays under its service now cancelled. After nearly 60 years of providing package holidays, Balkan Holidays has ceased trading as of April 24.\u00a0 The operator, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1352"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1357,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1352\/revisions\/1357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}