Authorities in central coastal Binh Thuan Province are co-operating with
the Russian Consul General in HCM City to help more than 300 Russian
tourists return home by Feb. 8.
The Russian visitors were left
stranded in Vietnam after the bankruptcy of Lanta Tour Voyage, one of
Russia's biggest travel companies.
The company announced its
bankruptcy on January 27, leaving more than 3,500 Russian tourists
stranded in foreign countries around the world.
Chairman of Binh
Thuan Province's Tourism Association Nguyen Van Khoa said about 100
Russian tourists, who stay at local resorts such as the Bamboo Village,
Hoang Ngoc and Hai Au, are stilled stranded in the provincial capital of
Phan Thiet City.
Other Russian tourists left for HCM City, where they will get help to return to Russia.
Khoa
said Konstantin Prihodko, director of Lanta Tour Voyage's branch in
Vietnam, is scheduled to be in HCM City on Feb.1 to deal with the
matter.
Previously, the association has asked the police to not
allow Konstantin to leave Vietnam until the issue is resolved, Khoa
said.
According to Khoa, a Russian insurance company will take
responsibility to pay for the debt of nearly 10 billion VND (480,000
USD) to Vietnamese resorts where the tourists stayed.
In a
related move, officials from the Russian Consul General and the
provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department visited local resorts
on Jan. 30 afternoon to meet the stranded tourists.
The Russian
Investigative Committee (SK) on Jan. 31 prosecuted Lanta Tour Voyage's
management board for embezzling money and property.
A
representative from the committee said authorities will investigate the
case carefully and enforce all necessary measures to compensate the
tourists./.
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