Over 100 employees

Bankruptcy worth millions: Travel company finally facing the end

Dark clouds loomed over the travel company based in Stans.

(Bild: Johanna Birbaumer/Krone KREATIV)

Bad news from the economy at the beginning of the week: the Tyrolean travel company Travel Europe, which is facing bankruptcy despite corona millions, is finally on the brink of collapse. Talks with various investors have failed, Creditreform reported early on Monday.

Restructuring proceedings without self-administration were opened for the assets of the company "Travel Europe Reiseveranstaltungs GmbH", based in Stans (Schwaz district), on 7 January at the Innsbruck Regional Court on the basis of an application for self-administration.

"Talks with investors failed"
The next piece of bad news came early on Monday morning: "The financing talks held with various investors as part of the restructuring efforts failed and no fresh liquid funds could be provided by the financial creditors either," explains Tristan Prem from the Austrian Creditreform Association. 

The company is now to be closed down.

Tristan Prem, Creditreform

This is bitter news for the 116 employees affected by the insolvency: The company is to be closed down. "An application to this effect was already submitted to the court on Friday," continues Prem.

Almost 2000 creditors affected
In addition to the 116 employees, around 1900 creditors are affected by the insolvency, it was reported after the multi-million bankruptcy became known at the beginning of the year. As the Credit Protection Association (KSV1870) announced at the time, "liabilities of around 32 million euros are to be assumed."

Company founded at the end of the 80s
"Travel Europe Reiseveranstaltungs GmbH" was founded in 1989. According to Creditreform, its area of activity was the organization of group tours. These tours were "predominantly cultural tours in Europe, offered as guided group tours". The main source markets (customers' markets) were France, Spain and the United Kingdom. The main target markets (destinations), on the other hand, were Croatia, Portugal and Austria, according to a Creditreform press release at the time.

Raining millions during Corona

Interesting and explosive: A look at the transparency portal of the Ministry of Finance shows that the company received over ten million euros in Covid aid from 2021 to 2023:

• 1,242,832.86 euros were paid out in 2021.
• In 2022, a whopping 5,693,052.41 euros were paid out.
• In 2023, 3,762,516.89 euros were paid out.

The debtor had intended to continue the company as part of the restructuring process. There had also been talks with a "strong partner from the travel industry", it was reported at the beginning of January. These hopes are now likely to have been dashed.

"Multiple crises" reason for bankruptcy
The reason given for the insolvency was that the "multiple crises" of recent years - Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and inflation - had hit the travel industry hard. Explosive: a look at the Ministry of Finance's transparency portal shows that the company had received over ten million euros in Covid aid from 2021 to 2023.