It is unofficially mentioned that the average bank guarantee will be between 300,000 and 400,000 euros, which, according to many, is an unrealistic figure at this time.
The tourist inspection will not revoke the licenses of the agencies, travel organizers, until a solution is found for the problem, which arose due to the decision of the insurance companies not to issue insurance policies anymore.
Exit from this situation is expected in the next seven to 10 days, by which time the issue of bank guarantees should be considered, as a model for ensuring travel security, when concluding tourist arrangements. However, it does not mean much to all agencies, because only the strongest will have money for them.
In the last month, many associations have warned the authorities that their licenses expire on October 1, and that insurance companies no longer want to issue policies to them, due to the alleged excessive risk in business, which would mean a key to the lock for them. However, a meeting between the authorities in the Ministry and the representatives of the Association of Banks was held at the last minute, at which the issue of bank guarantees was discussed.
– Representatives of the Association of Banks will submit a proposal of the procedure for the functioning and eventual activation of bank guarantees by the end of the week – said the Minister of Tourism Rasim Ljajic. – This model of travel guarantee has never been used in practice, although it is provided by the Law on Tourism. The procedure to be adopted will be incorporated into the new Rulebook on Travel Guarantees. Representatives of the Ministry will mediate between insurance companies and travel agencies, in order to resolve the current dispute.
According to Ljajic, it is quite unusual for insurance companies, three days before the expiration of the current licenses, to inform the agencies in vain that they will not provide that type of service, justifying themselves with a high degree of risk.
– The essence is that insurance companies do risk assessment for each individual agency and do business with those that they estimate are stable and solvent – Ljajic pointed out. – We will not revoke their licenses, because we expect the problem to be solved in the next ten days. And, as the summer season is already over, no new tourist arrangements are expected in this period.
According to the Belgrade media, referring to unofficial sources, there will most likely be nothing from the agreement with the insurance companies. This means that bank guarantees will be the only solution for business. Obtaining them is not at all easy, nor cheap, because the average bank guarantee will be between 300,000 and 400,000 euros. Many travel agencies in Serbia have told us that this figure, especially at this moment, is unrealistic, and that only about twenty travel agencies will remain on the market, tour operators of about 480, as many as are currently operating, Srbija Danas reports.
