The Federal Tourism Agency itself recognizes Natalie Tours as an inactive tour operator. The Federal Tourism Agency excluded Natalie Tours from the register of tour operators. Is it allowed to provide notarized copies of those documents required in the original?

The Federal Tourism Agency excluded legal entities operating under the Natalie Tours brand from the federal register of tour operators. The site reported this in an order dated September 3, signed by the head of the FAT, Oleg Safonov.

“In connection with the cancellation from July 4, 2018 by tour operators carrying out tour operator activities using the designation “Natalie tours” and a single website on the Internet information and telecommunications network: www.natalie-tours.ru (LLC “ Panorama Tour"; LLC "Travel Agency "NATALI"; LLC Tour Operator "Natalie Tours") of all orders / tourist services, guided by the provisions of paragraph 16 of part 15 of article 4.2 of the Federal Law of November 24, 1996 No. 132-FZ "On the fundamentals of tourism activities in Russian Federation" (hereinafter referred to as Law No. 132-FZ), I order: to exclude from the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators information about the following tour operators... Panorama Tour LLC, Travel Agency NATALI LLC, Tour Operator Natali Tours LLC, - reported in document published on the website of the Federal Agency for Tourism.

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Thus, Rostourism quickly demonstrated the effectiveness of the new legal norm, which allows for the “forcible” removal from the register of companies that do not cease their activities themselves, but do not fulfill their obligations to clients. The management of the tour operator actually blocked the insurance compensation mechanism: tens of thousands of tourists could not apply for compensation to the insurer and receive at least some compensation. It is from the moment Natalie Tours is excluded from the register that grounds appear for Ingosstrakh to pay those clients whose tours were disrupted.

“Which tourists will receive compensation and in what amount is an open question. No one knows how many tour operator clients will contact the insurer and whether all of them will have their documents drawn up correctly. Wait and see. In any case, getting at least part of the amount from the cost of the trip is better than getting nothing,” explains Alexander Bayborodin, a lawyer at Lawyers for Business Baiborodin and Partners.

According to him, the occurrence of an insured event will remove travel agents from the blow. They will receive a new strong argument that they can use in court - that the tourist needs to apply for payment from the insurer. “This will be an additional building block in the defense of agents, along with the general thesis about the responsibility of the tour operator for failure to fulfill obligations on tours. And the main thing is that this argument is reasonable and understandable to both the court and the average person - why should a travel agent be responsible if the law provides for a special liability insurance mechanism and there are all grounds for starting payments,” added Alexander Bayborodin. He drew an analogy with compulsory motor liability insurance: since its introduction, the times of “set-ups” on the roads have practically become a thing of the past. Now, according to the lawyer, we can hope that in a few years not a single tourist will think of making claims against a travel agent in the event of the bankruptcy of the tour operator.

A message appeared that the Natalie Tours company had suspended its operations.

The information provided cannot have corresponding legal consequences for the reasons below.

According to Article 4.1. Federal Law “On the Fundamentals of Tourism Activities in the Russian Federation” dated November 24, 1996 No. 132-FZ, if the tour operator is unable to fulfill all obligations under concluded agreements on the sale of a tourist product, the tour operator is obliged to send information about the termination of tour operator activities due to the impossibility of fulfilling obligations under agreements on sales of tourism product:

To the authorized federal executive body (Rosturizm);

To the association of tour operators in the field of outbound tourism (Association "TURPOPOMOCH") (in the case of carrying out tour operator activities in the field of outbound tourism);

To the organization that provided the tour operator with financial security for the tour operator’s liability;

In addition, the tour operator is obliged to post information about the termination of tour operator activities due to the impossibility of fulfilling obligations under contracts for the sale of a tourist product on its official website on the Internet information and telecommunications network, as well as to stop concluding new contracts for the sale of a tourist product, including ensuring termination of their conclusion by travel agents selling the tourism product generated by such a tour operator.

The information posted on August 14, 2018 on the website https://www.natalie-tours.ru/ does not meet the above requirements and does not have signs of an insured event.

The Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators lists four legal entities operating under the Natalie Tours brand:

Panorama Tour LLC (TIN 7709493430, tour operator registration number: RTO 017843). Address of the place where tour operator activities are carried out: 109029, Moscow, st. Nizhegorodskaya, 32, building 15, room. 25a;

Travel Agency NATALI LLC (TIN 7728146424, tour operator registration number: RTO 000736). Address of the place where tour operator activities are carried out: 117342, Moscow, st. Butlerova, 17B, E 2 room. XI, room 60E, office. 47;

LLC "Tourism Center "Soglasie" (TIN 9705113320, tour operator registry number: RTO 019597). Address of the place where tour operator activities are carried out: 115054, Moscow, st. Valovaya, 21, building 125;

LLC Tour Operator "Natalie Tours" (TIN 9705059120, tour operator registration number: RTO 018482). Address of the place where tour operator activities are carried out: 115054, Moscow, st. Valovaya, 21, building 125.

The message on the website https://www.natalie-tours.ru/ does not indicate which legal entities have suspended their activities. In this case, we are talking specifically about operational, and not about tour operator activities.

Due to the incorrectness of the information posted on the website https://www.natalie-tours.ru/, and also taking into account that until now the Federal Tourism Agency has received official statements about the termination of tour operator activities due to the impossibility of fulfilling obligations under contracts for the sale of tourism products from tour operators have not received any information; to clarify the situation, the Federal Tourism Agency is preparing a request to the above-mentioned tour operator companies.

From September this will be possible under the new legislation.

From September 3, 2018, changes are being made to the law on the fundamentals of tourism activities. According to the new version, the Federal Agency for Tourism (Rosturizm) will be able to exclude from the register of tour operators companies that actually do not fulfill their obligations.

“Natalie Tours” fits this criterion: Rostourism plans to exclude it from the register of tour operators, two people familiar with the agency’s plans told Vedomosti. The request to Rostourism remained unanswered.

Due to declining demand, rising fuel costs and dollar volatility, Natalie Tours began to have liquidity problems. At the end of June, the company had to cancel charter flights to some European destinations. This, in turn, caused a wave of negative publications about the tour operator, which is why travel agents stopped selling his tours and Natalie Tours lost its cash flow, company president Vladimir Vorobyov told Vedomosti. From July 2, the tour operator canceled all tours until the end of the summer season, he warned. Today Vorobiev did not respond to requests.

After the cancellation of the tours, Natalie Tours legally had 10 days to notify all clients and travel agents about the method of refund and the amounts due, continues one of Vedomosti’s interlocutors. According to him, they all received these documents - and now the travel company has 90 days to make payments.

These 90 days will expire by the end of September, but already on September 3, Rostourism will have the right to independently exclude the tour operator from the register, thus the company has a month left for all payments, the interlocutor states.

The tour operator still does not pay money to clients, says press secretary of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Irina Tyurina: in early July, Natalie Tours allocated 800,000 rubles. for payments, but after that they stopped. Natalie Tours is insured for 150.5 million rubles. under civil liability insurance contracts and another 5.9 million rubles. in personal liability funds, according to data from the Rostourism website. But insurers do not have the right to begin insurance payments before the official termination of business. So far, Rostourism cannot exclude a tour operator from the register: either the company must independently file an application to terminate its activities, or this decision is made by the court.

An application for termination of activity is an insured event, explains Director of Public Relations of Ingosstrakh, Karen Asoyan: only then can the company begin insurance payments; The exclusion of the company from the register of Rostourism under the new rules will also be an insured event.

Even this will not save the situation, Tyurina believes. According to her, all Natalie Tours tours were sold through the legal entity Panorama Tour LLC, which is insured for only 50 million rubles. at Ingosstrakh. And the total debt to tourists is $15 million (over 900 million rubles), Tyurin recalls. Thus, clients will be able to receive no more than 4.2% of the cost of the tour if the tour operator does not compensate for losses on its own, analysts from the Association of Russian Tour Operators calculated.

Many tourists file claims against Panorama Tour, as well as travel agencies and the insurer, Tyurina knows. According to the Arbitration Court file, since mid-summer, seven claims have already been filed against Panorama Tour for a total amount of 1.7 million rubles.

After the cessation of activities, tourists should file an application to initiate a criminal case against Vorobyov and the general director of Natalie Tours, says the head of the Legal Center of Eduard Shalonosov, Eduard Shalonosov. This is the only way to include personal property and accounts of the company’s owners in payments, the lawyer explains: usually after this, clients quickly receive their money.

Three legal entities "Natalie Tours", on behalf of which the company carried out tour operator activities, were excluded from the federal register. This became known on Monday, Interfax reports.

The order, signed by the head of the department Oleg Safonov, reads: “... to exclude from the unified federal register of tour operators information about the following tour operators carrying out tour operator activities using the designation “Natalie tours” and a single website on the Internet information and telecommunications network: www .natalie-tours.ru: Panorama Tour LLC, Travel Agency NATALI LLC, Tour Operator Natalie Tours LLC.

The problems of the largest tour operator became widely known at the end of June: then Natalie Tours announced the need to curtail charter programs amid low demand. A few days later, the foreign partners hosting tourists announced that they were terminating their cooperation with Natalie Tours, citing lack of payment from the tour operator. On July 4, Natalie Tours announced the cancellation of all confirmed tours until September 30. At the same time, the head of the tour operator, Vladimir Vorobyov, said that activities would not be stopped. Instead of trips, he offered clients guarantees that they would be able to go on a tour of the appropriate cost in the summer of 2019. Some clients agreed to this proposal, while others went to court.

In mid-August, the tour operator officially announced the suspension of operations. This message was published on the company's website. Later, the president of Natalie Tours, Vladimir Vorobyov, denied the information, saying that we were only talking about closing the site.

The company owes clients and partners 1.5 billion rubles. The total number of affected tourists is approximately 30 thousand, of which almost no one has been able to return money for canceled tours.

According to Interfax, Ingosstrakh Insurance Company, which insures the tour operator's liability, has announced its readiness to pay compensation to injured clients in the amount covered by the tour operator's financial guarantee, but only after it announces the cessation of activities.

The Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST) considers the situation with Natalie Tours to be unprecedented for the market: the company canceled the tours it sold, but did not announce the suspension of activities, and therefore clients cannot receive compensation.

On September 3, amendments to the law on tourism activities came into force, according to which Rostourism received the right to exclude a tour operator from the register if it does not fulfill its obligations to tourists. Previously, it was possible to exclude a company from the register only after it itself announced the cessation of activities.

In the summer, there are 8 tour operators, including Raduga Travel, Matryoshka Tour and Polar Tour.