Santa heartbreak as tour firm calls in administrators

Families with bookings for this Christmas were told their trips would no longer go ahead, although they should receive full refunds.

Philip Long, head of corporate recovery at administrator PKF, said: “Christmas is an awful time for any business to go into administration and the nature of Nortours’s product – Santa Claus tours – makes this administration all the more upsetting not only for the staff, but also for the families who will have been expecting to fly off to visit Santa in the next few days.”

The London-based company, which is registered as Finlandia Travel Agency but operates as Nortours, was established in 1963 and has been running its Santa Claus tour programme for 20 years.

Administrators said they believed about 500 families were due to travel with the firm this Christmas.

Nortours said in a statement on its website that none of the Santa Holidays would go ahead since it had been unable to raise the minimum number of passengers needed to transfer to another operator.

However, it directed customers to another company, Colchester Travel, willing to help disappointed families.

All travellers should receive a full refund since the trips are protected by the Civil Aviation Authority, Atol and Abta.

Mr Long said the administrators would do everything possible to find the best solution for all the families concerned. However, he said: “Unfortunately, none of the holidays will go ahead.”

He added: “Ongoing high interest rates are making consumers think twice about spending, and traditional high-end tour operators such as Nortours are finding it impossible to cope with the low number of bookings being made.”

Nortours employs 12 staff and has an average annual turnover of £9m (€13.2m).

:: Customers with queries relating to claims were told to contact Atol on 020 7453 6350.