Covid proves fatal for major Slovak tourist agency FIRO-tour

by   CIJ Linguistics
2020-12-30   10:35
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The Slovak travel agency FIRO-tour has collapsed under the weight of problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The daily Pravda writes that this ends a 20-year run during which the company became of the major agencies in the country, with branches in VIVO! Bratislava and the Aupark shopping mall in Kosice. Its headquarters are in Polus Tower 1. "Even though we believe until the last minute and hoped that we'd manage things, we have to accept defeat today with bowed heads," it wrote on its social media pages. The company has pledged to refund customers for all vacations they bought within six weeks. The decision to stop doing business came just days after its insurer Allianz announced that it would not be providing insolvency insurance in 2021. FIRO-tour was unable to secure coverage from any other insurance company and is not allowed to do business without it. The head of Slovakia's Association of Travel Agencies Jana Varinsky praised the company's top management for the way it handled the situation. "It's the gesture of an executive who puts his clients first."