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Adventure travel specialist Tucan Travel has become another sad casualty of the impact of COVID-19 on travel with the company being placed into immediate administration in the UK and Australia.

Tucan Travel was started by Australians Pip and Liliana Tyler in 1987 and originally specialised in S America but grew to offer tours all over the world.

A statement on behalf of Tucan Travel’s staff said, “During this challenging time tour operators like Tucan Travel have faithfully tried to support people and balance their needs,” adding, “including making difficult decisions to keep the company alive and making many staff layoffs, which has now extended to all employees.”

Tucan Travel suspended tour operations in March 2020 with the company saying “there has been no satisfactory solution for tour operators to be able to address the number of clients wishing to receive immediate full refunds”, adding, “The reason for this is that tour operators effectively coordinate airlines, hotels and local services such as guides, permits and transportation for groups of clients”, and “Tour operators are required to pay in advance to secure these services on behalf of their clients; many of these service contracts are non-refundable or non- transferrable.”

They added, “In addition many of the smaller overseas hotels and service providers that specialist tour operators support are in an even worse situation, they simply do not have the resources to repay what is owed to tour operators until they are able to reopen their business and earn money again.”

The company also said no-one could have predicted that in January 2021, most countries in the world would be in further tough lockdowns with many people losing their lives and loved ones, adding, “There is unlikely to be any normal international leisure travel until 2022 and so with a heavy heart, the decision was taken in the best interests of everyone concerned to place the company into administration.”

A report by John Alwyn-Jones