Erik Jan Reuver, director of SGR, is following with great interest the developments surrounding FTI’s bankruptcy filing in Germany. ‘FTI is not an SGR(Z) participant, so in that sense we don’t have much to do with it.’ FTI is a member of the German guarantee fund DRSF, which was established in 2019 after the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook.
Reuver: ‘This is the first major bankruptcy that this German guarantee fund has experienced, so it is exciting to see how that will go. They have partly copied the system they use from us, so I wonder if they can handle it.’ Text continues below the podcast. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5kOas2Dnctm4EyAE5pskDt?si=b03130dc8d504e1f Dutch companies FTI has recently sent out several press releases about the company’s (financial) situation. ‘As a result, DRSF and the market were of course aware of the situation at FTI,’ says Reuver. FTI has also been fully active in the Dutch market over the past eight years. ‘For the Dutch travel agents who work a lot with FTI, it is of course exciting to see how things will go from here.’ Exemption scheme Regarding the exemption scheme for German tour operators, Reuver says: ‘The exemption scheme meant that retailers affiliated with SGR did not have to hold securities with us on FTI’s turnover, because the German guarantee fund provides cover. But the moment the travel agent has started to package itself, for example by adding a rental car through Sunny Cars, then it becomes a package from that travel agent and then that travel agent has to ensure that the trip is fulfilled. If you, as a travel agent, have already paid to FTI, then as a travel agent you have to provide a solution yourself.’
