UK Travel Businesses in Crisis
British travel businesses are facing a tough time, with several well-known companies going out of business in recent months. Rising jet fuel prices and uncertainty surrounding international travel have made the situation even more challenging. It’s expected that more companies could follow suit.
When these companies collapse, it often leads to cancelled bookings and holidaymakers being left out of pocket if their packages aren’t covered by ATOL protection. In April 2025, Balkan Holidays, a company that had been operating for nearly 60 years, shut down, causing trips to countries like Croatia, Montenegro, and Malta to be cancelled. Two months later, Great Little Escapes, which offered package holidays to iconic cities around the world, also closed its doors. In January 2026, Regen Central Ltd became the latest casualty, leaving customers without refunds after it went into liquidation.
What to Do If Your Operator Is on This List
If your travel operator is listed as having gone under, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. Here are some key points to consider:
- Check for ATOL or ABTA Protection: Both ATOL (Air Travel Organisers Licensing) and ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) provide financial protection for UK travellers if the company they booked their holiday through goes bust.
- ATOL covers flight-based holidays and helps with refunds and getting home if stranded abroad.
ABTA covers holidays that don’t involve flights (trains, cruises, road) and helps with complaints and refunds.
Get Travel Insurance: Regardless of whether your trip is ATOL or ABTA protected, you should always get travel insurance. According to Citizens Advice, you’re entitled to a full refund if the company cancels your holiday.
Contact the Company: If your holiday is ATOL protected, you should receive a refund for the package itself. However, this won’t cover any other elements booked separately, such as car hire. While it may be possible to find another operator to take over your trip, this is rare and not guaranteed.
Notable Cases of Liquidation
Several UK travel firms faced liquidation in 2026. Here are some of the most notable cases:
Gold Crest Holidays
UK-based coach-operator Gold Crest Holidays ceased trading on January 23, completely shutting down the business with immediate effect. All future trips and package holidays booked with the business were cancelled, and customers were advised to make alternative arrangements. The family-run West Yorkshire company, which had been organising coach trips around the UK and Europe for 30 years, explained some of the challenges facing the industry. A statement said: “This difficult decision follows the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, strategic changes in key partner arrangements that adversely affected our business, and a challenging trading environment with significantly rising costs.”
Asiara UK
ATOL protected? Yes.
Originally known as Haivenu Tours before its rebrand as Asiara UK, the travel company launched in 2022, offering packages and tours across Asian destinations including Thailand, China, India, Japan and Singapore. As of January 21, the Ipswich-based business ceased trading as an ATOL holder, again completely shutting down. Unlike other businesses that have folded, the closure of Asiara UK was unlikely to cause too much inconvenience to travellers, as Protected Trust Services (an independent, UK based financial protection service, similar to ATOL) said the company had no forward bookings at the time it closed.
Simply Florida
Simply Florida, was a Glasgow-based travel agency which organised holidays to destinations including Disneyland, Disney World, Universal Studios, New York, Toronto and Niagara Falls, as well as cruises. But, after filing to be taken off the Companies House register in October last year, it officially ceased trading on January 20. It means that holidaymakers who were looking forward to trips to Disney World and Universal Studios had their breaks cancelled.
Major European Hotel Chain Declares Insolvency
You may not have heard of Revo Hospitality Group, but you could well have stayed in one of their hotels. While not UK based, Revo, formerly known as HR Group, was Europe’s biggest hotel operator, with a portfolio of over 260 hotels that operate across 12 European countries and 146 cities — including in the UK. The group, which launched in 2008, went on to become Europe’s largest white-label (third-party) operator, with a mix of hotels under major franchise brands including Hilton, Marriott, Accor, Wyndham, and IHG. It also runs its own labels, including Vagabond Club, Hyperio and Aedenlife. However, on January 16, the company declared insolvency, citing the ‘economic crisis’ as the main catalyst.
London-based Regen Central Ltd went into liquidation on January 13, and ceased trading. The company, which was founded in Hertfordshire in 2007, before relocating to the capital, sold flight and hotel packages for Europe and Southeast Asia. At the time, ATOL confirmed that the company had ‘no outstanding ATOL-protected bookings,’ meaning no refunds would be offered via ATOL. The announcement on the ATOL failures page said: “We understand the company had no outstanding ATOL-protected bookings.” This means that, as there are no outstanding ATOL-protected bookings, no refunds will be issued. The ATOL failures page added: “Bookings sold as accommodation only, non-flight packages, and flight only bookings for which tickets were issued are not protected by the ATOL scheme.”
