The Turkish owner of Goldtrail, the British tour operator that went bankrupt last week, affecting some 20,000 tourists in Greece and Turkey, has likely fled to his home country, daily Hürriyet reported Wednesday.
Businessman Abdülkadir Aydın, who could not be contacted this past week, probably “escaped” to Turkey, Hürriyet wrote, quoting tourism-sector sources in England and Turkey. The paper added that Quickstep Leisure, a sister company of Goldtrail, was also at financial risk.
Celal Candansaray, a former partner of Aydın’s, told Hürriyet he had sued the Goldtrail owner for a debt of 727,000 pounds in a Turkish court.
According to Candansaray, the two businessmen established a company that rented hotels in Turkey to serve Goldtrail customers. “We did some important business in the beginning but I could not get my share in 2007,” he said. “[Aydın] used to answer my calls and apologize, but he doesn’t any more. His lawyer attends the hearings of the lawsuit.”
Tourism-sector sources in London told Hürriyet that Aydın used to provide cheap accommodation but had accrued big debts to hotels. The company retained rooms at two- and three-star hotels and sold tours to British people who earn low incomes, the sources said, adding that the company was featured on BBC television’s “Watchdog” program last year for its low-quality vacation packages.
Goldtrail was included in a list of “highly risky” tour operators two years ago, reported the Sun, a British daily.
Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority said Saturday that Goldtrail flights from Britain had been suspended and that it was making alternative arrangements for travelers already on vacation, including those holidaying in a variety of popular tourism destinations in Turkey.
“A total of 18,000 tourists currently in locations such as Marmaris, Datça, Dalaman, KöyceÄŸiz, Sarıgerme and Dalyan are being sent home,” Ä°lhan Açıkgöz, the head of the Southern Aegean Tourism Hoteliers Union said Saturday, adding that the ticket prices are being paid by the CAA.
