A Canadian tour operator, Go Travel South, ceased doing business “due to economic circumstances” and informed travelers that their “flights will not be departing.”
“We are extremely sorry that you will not be departing on your planned vacations,” the company says on its website.
Go Travel South operated a winter tour program from Halifax to Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
The tour operator, based in Halifax, informs travelers that they will have to contact their credit card companies for refunds and that Go Travel South will not be responding to e-mails, although it will respond to requests to send missing itineraries or e-tickets.
Go Travel South contracted with Flair Air beginning in December 2009 for charter flights, but tells travelers that Flair Air was merely the provider of charter air services and can’t help with refunds.
Flair Air says it contract with Go Travel South has been terminated, although it will operate flights Feb. 25 to Feb. 28 to retrieve Go Travel South for their returns from Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
According to consumers’ discussions on TripAdvisor, the company had been having economic struggles for some time.
It apparently changed its name last year from Go Travel Direct to Go Travel South and ceased flying from Montreal in favor of Halifax and Ottawa departures only.
From what I can understand Go Travel Direct had stopped operating the first time due to the fall of their sister company Zoom Airlines. Now though it certainly is due to their economic difficulties. Makes me wonder if a direct sales company will ever be able to compete against the buying power of Transat. Go Travel’s big proble was always getting decent properties to sell. There was even a complaint deposited by GoTravelDirect a few years ago at the competition bureau against the other tour operator blocking them access to decent properties. ANyone ever heard of what happened with i?
Jeff: I guess this is a problem throughout the travel industry. How does a small travel seller compete against the marketplace clout of Expedia? How does Go Travel South get inventory when it has to compete against Transat.
Big squeeze play.
I find Expedia’s situation to be a bit different as they distribute as oppose to conceive packages. Therefore, though they are very very powerful they can’t necessarly control what the other OTA will do especially in the all inclusive canadian market as there is a minimum price they have to charge.
In an Tour Operator side being as powerful as Transat means they control the market a few different ways. They can eliminate competition by going ridiculously low as they have done with Maestro or they can use their power to manipulate hotelier not to sell to certain companies or they pull out… Good thing Sunwing is doing well or else consumers would certainly be paying the price.
Don’t get me wrong though, i’d most certainly use the same strategy being in their position. I guess its just that i’d like David to beat Goliath eventually!
Still looking for that bloody law suit…wonder what were the consequences if any….
Jeff: You are write. Expedia can use its market power to get favorable terms from hotels, but they generally don’t have exclusive deals which bar other intermediaries.
I’ve looked online and seen a bunch of references to the competition bureau complaint by GoTravelDirect, but haven;t seen what the resolution was, if any.