Company abandons 300 customers in Phu Quoc and goes bankrupt. Can Vietnamese partner collect debt?

Bamboo Airways overdue debt of more than 3.1 billion VND

Not only does We Love Tour owe the travel agency that organized the tour for the 292 abandoned tourists more than VND3.4 billion, it also owes Bamboo Airways more than VND3.1 billion for renting a plane to take tourists to Phu Quoc and back during the Lunar New Year. However, Lin Dajun (General Director of We Love Tour) admitted that he is facing financial difficulties and is unable to compensate or repay the debt. The Taiwan Tourism Quality Assurance Association accused Lin of "deliberate fraud". The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office said on February 18 that it has proactively investigated Lin Dajun's fraud case.

Bamboo Airways’ Taiwanese general agent, the airline responsible for transporting passengers, has not received more than NT$4 million (over VND3.1 billion) in payment for the charter flight. The unit said it will file a lawsuit in court, according to Taiwanese media.

Company abandons customers in Phu Quoc goes bankrupt, can Vietnamese partner collect debt?

Zhang Zhijia, Bamboo Airways' general agent in Taiwan and chairman of Qingze Travel Company, confirmed that legal action would be taken at a press conference on February 19. He said that Lin Dajun would never be able to answer when the debt would be paid. The original deadline for transferring the money was on the afternoon of February 7 (before the trip), but it was later delayed for various reasons, including a "car accident." On February 13, while the abandoned tourists had not yet returned to Taiwan, Lin promised to pay on February 15, right after the group boarded the plane to return home. However, he has only received NT$200,000 in cash out of more than NT$4 million.

Winner Vietnam representative announced to collect money from tourists abandoned at a hotel in Phu Quoc

The Taiwan Tourism Quality Assurance Association said that as of February 19, it had received a total of 56 complaints from tourists against We Love Tour and the deadline for submitting complaints is March 18. The company's debts so far include more than NT$4.4 million from Winner Vietnam, NT$4 million from Bamboo Airways, a NT$810,000 fine for violations, about NT$20 million in disputes with groups of tourists abandoned in Phu Quoc, etc.

Previously, the Taiwanese government suspended the We Love Tour for 3 months, because it left 292 Taiwanese tourists stranded without accommodation, food or transportation on Phu Quoc Island from February 11 to 14. The cost that Winner Vietnam provided for the group was committed by We Love Tour to be paid before February 26.

However, the matter became more complicated when We Love Tour declared "bankruptcy" on February 16, with no more money to compensate tourists or fulfill contracts.

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How to get money back?

We Love Tour's overseas debts are said to be around NT$10 million, not to mention another NT$20 million owed to tourists in the Phu Quoc tour collapse. The company's general director admitted that he was unable to pay this amount. While the company only had NT$10 million in travel insurance, which could be used to cover incidents, the debt has now exceeded this amount.

The Taiwan Tourism Quality Assurance Association said that if the total amount of claims exceeds the deposit limit, the association will cover the loss.

Lin admits he has no more money to compensate tourists

Speaking with Thanh Nien , Mr. Ha Tuan Minh, Director of Winner Vietnam, said: The company once received 700,000 NTD (about 500,000 million VND) in deposit from We Love Tour, plus the amount the company collected from some tourists in the group of 292 people, the Taiwanese company currently owes Winner Vietnam 4.4 million NTD (more than 3.4 billion VND).

"While the Taiwan Tourism Administration asked us for humanitarian assistance for the second time and arranged for the two companies to reach a payment agreement, it also promised to help recover this amount of money," said Mr. Minh. In case the local government speaks up to protect the company's interests, the chance of debt recovery will be very high, otherwise the risk of losing everything is not low.

"The payment agreement is on February 26, we are waiting for this day. If by that day, the Taiwanese side cannot pay, we will ask for help from the local authorities (specifically Phu Quoc City and the management agency - Kien Giang Department of Tourism - PV)", Mr. Minh shared.

Meanwhile, Ziontour - a Vietnamese travel company that has cooperated with We Love Tour for 11 years, accused the Taiwanese travel company of repeatedly delaying payments to Vietnamese partners and owing at least four local operators.

Mr. Phan Anh Tri, General Director of Ziontour (based in Da Nang), said that We Love Tour owed his company 80,000 USD (about 2 billion VND) since 2019, and has only paid 10,000 USD so far.

Tourists denounce We Love Tour after arriving at Taoyuan Airport

Mr. Nguyen Duc Chi, a tourism expert, said that the case of abandoning customers and demanding debt from bankrupt partners like Winner has never been recorded in Vietnam. "Vietnamese tourism companies have never been in a similar situation," Mr. Chi said.

According to Mr. Chi, in this case, it is difficult for the local government in Vietnam to intervene, if anything, it is necessary to influence the diplomatic agency in Taiwan to get support. The problem is that Winner still has to wait for the Taiwan Tourism Quality Assurance Association to handle the 10 million NT dollars of We Love Tour's travel insurance, but will definitely prioritize compensation for tourists affected by the Phu Quoc collapse, then foreign partners.

If the partner cannot pay the debt, Winner Vietnam must sue and go to court in Taiwan. At that time, the cost may be more than the debt to be collected. "The story drawn from this case, I think, is that first, Winner did not decisively terminate the contract and return the deposit. Second, when the incident occurred, instead of immediately standing up to 'save' the group of tourists, Winner should report to the authorities, specifically the Phu Quoc City government and the Department of Tourism of Kien Giang province, to have a plan to support tourists in a timely manner. This issue is mentioned in the law, specifically in Article 6, Clause 4, Point a of Decree 45/2019, which requires timely reporting to the management agency about accidents, risks, and incidents that occur with tourists," Mr. Chi analyzed.

Vietnamese travel company once abandoned 700 guests in Thailand

In 2013, a group of 700 Vietnamese tourists traveling to attend a conference in Bangkok, Thailand, was abandoned.

The tour operator, Travel Life (HCMC), did not pay the transportation service provider in Thailand, which was the cause of the incident.

At that time, this company received more than 4.5 billion VND from customers to bring more than 700 guests to Thailand, but due to lack of calculation, the airfare alone for the trip increased to 4.3 billion VND.

The inspection results showed that Travel Life had violated many legal regulations such as operating at an incorrect registered address and organizing foreign tours without a license. The company was administratively fined 81 million VND. The case was then transferred to the police but was stuck because the tourists did not come forward to report it, the company owner fled...

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