It’s been confirmed today that Melbourne based tour operator Tempo Holidays and Bentours have gone into voluntary administration.
Tempo Holidays and Bentours (AUS/NZ) issued a statement to media that as of 3.00pm on the 19th September 2019, the business could no longer trade commercially.
In the statement, the company said they had been advised by Cox and Kings (India) that the business had in recent weeks been “seeking investors/buyers with heavy interest however as this has not been materialised, as of today Tempo Holidays and Bentours are unable to continue operating in AUS/NZ.”
The company said the board is currently in the process of “appointing an official administrator who will then coordinate with all the interested parties.”
While the staff have been dealt with the devastating news today, the company says Tempo Holidays and Bentours staff will be “working with respective agents/suppliers and clients to assist in next steps once confirmed.”
“It is understandably a sad day for all staff concerned along with trade. Tempo Holidays and Bentours have been wholesalers within AUS/NZ for over 30 and 40 years respectively and have experienced great success and growth over recent years.”
Bentours and Tempo Holidays spokesperson
Speculation about Tempo Holidays and Bentours financial demise has been running hot amongst agents for some time with many forward bookings now currently in question.
The news follows the announcement by AFTA less than four weeks ago on the 22nd of August 2019 of the cancellation of Tempo Holidays’ ATAS Accreditation.
At that time, Tempo Holidays were added to the Excluded list for ACS with AFTA saying that all payments made before the 22nd of August under the scheme would remain protected.
A spokesperson for Bentours and Tempo Holidays said:
“We have had the pleasure of providing dream holidays for all of our customers. We are proud and thank all of our passionate and supportive staff for their contribution and dedication over the years. We also extend our deepest and sincere gratitude to all of our travel agents and trade partners for their loyalty and their continual support over the years.”
The hope now for consumers and trade is that forward bookings are honoured with Tempo and Bentours saying that they will have a further update tomorrow.
Hurtigruten who recently opened their first Australian office in Melbourne has released a statement saying that they are “committed to working with affected agents and clients to confirm their Hurtigruten bookings. Hurtigruten will not cancel any agent or client bookings without consultation with that agent or client.”
Hurtigruten cruises say bookings for travel between October and December 2019 will be affected by the closure of Bentours and Tempo Holidays.
“Hurtigruten will work closely with agents and clients to offer travel solutions and alternatives arising from the Bentours, Cox & Kings and Tempo Holidays collapse.”
Hurtigruten Asia Pacific Managing Director Damian Perry.
Hurtigruten also said that: “agents and clients with forward bookings through Bentours are advised to contact their agency head office to check on policies or contact Hurtigruten at apac.assist@hurtigruten.com or
1300 322 062. hurtigruten.com.au will have a dedicated website page to assist with enquiries.”
At the time of going live with this article, both the www.bentours.com.au and www.tempoholidays.com websites featured no company news updates.