Canary Islands chaos as 40k tourists warned holidays could be cancelled

Holidaymakers visiting the Canary Islands have been issued an urgent warning as over 40k tourists could end up losing their holidays.

It comes as the German tour operator FTI filed for bankruptcy, putting thousands of tourists and workers in the Islands in limbo.

The tour operator’s insolvency has impacted Meeting Point, a hotel chain with 12 hotels in Fuerteventura, 11 in Gran Canaria, four in Tenerife, and three in Lanzarote.

As per the estimates, the bankruptcy has put the holidays of around 40,000 tourists and the jobs of approximately 1,500 people at risk.

The FTI tour operator was responsible for bringing around half a million tourists to the Canary Islands each year, with a business volume of around £680million (€800m).

The insolvency is due to FTI's recent failure to make payments to its clients in the island tourism sector.

Despite hopes that an investment fund would take over the operator's debts, this did not materialise.

The collapse of the German firm has left many tourists and workers in a state of uncertainty.

Holidaymakers are advised to seek compensation from their insurance companies, as FTI will no longer fulfill its obligations.

The company has stated that it is working to ensure trips already in progress can be completed as planned, but those not yet started will only be partially fulfilled.

The Canary Islands tourism sector has learned a tough lesson from FTI's collapse, having faced a similar situation with the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook in 2019.

The region's reliance on external investment and its susceptibility to outside factors have been highlighted as significant concerns.