Tour operator Vacansoleil has requested a deferment of payment, the East Brabant court confirmed on Tuesday. The Eindhoven holiday provider is in danger of going bankrupt due to major financial problems. The court has appointed two administrators to the company. If they see no future prospects, the company will be declared bankrupt.
According to the tour operator, which employs three hundred people, the debt burden has become too great. Vacansoleil is one of the largest providers of luxury camping holidays in Europe. Every year, almost half a million people go on holiday via Vacansoleil. Vacansoleil offers pitches, mobile homes and furnished tents at hundreds of campsites in many European countries.
Heavy debt burden
Vacansoleil has been in trouble for several years. Before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the company was already making losses and was forced to reorganize. It then sold its own campsites in France and Luxembourg. Because sales of camping holidays fell even further during the pandemic – turnover fell by 55 percent to 45 million euros in 2020 – the company was forced to raise additional financing. According to the company, the debts have now become unsustainable due to rising interest rates and rising inflation. Last year Vacansoleil suffered a net loss of 2.6 million euros, a year earlier the loss was 5.8 million euros. The company also had significant negative equity in recent years.
Bankruptcy does not necessarily mean that customers who have already made a down payment for a holiday will lose their money. Vacansoleil is affiliated with the Travel Guarantee Fund Foundation, which guarantees if the company collapses.
A spokesperson for Vacansoleil reports that the Eindhoven company has spoken with a possible buyer. The negotiations failed at the last minute. The spokesperson does not want to say which company Vacansoleil has spoken to.