Over in Europe, multiple tour operators and other travel companies have filed for bankruptcy over the last two years.
British travel company Great Little Escapes was suddenly stripped of its license to operate last June amid sustained financial losses in 2024 and 2023.
The biggest bankruptcy in the space occurred when German group tour giant FTI Touristik GmbH suddenly shut down and canceled over 175,000 tours in June 2024.
In July 2025, Budapest-based tour company Unitravel Kft filed for bankruptcy, blaming a market of “new, foreign companies enter[ing] Hungary with huge financial resources.”
And just a few weeks later, Swedish tour provider MixxTravel, after being declared bankrupt by a judge, had to immediately cancel European tours that in some cases were halfway through. The company sold groups tours to Greece, Türkiye, and several North African countries to travelers from Scandinavian nations.
What is Bernie Reisen? German bus company cancels thousands of trips
Offering cross-city transportation and airport transfers as well as private and corporate travel tours, German bus company Bernie Reisen was ordered bankrupt by a German district court on September 10 and immediately began canceling future tours.
According to local outlets, thousands of travelers with booked travel are potentially affected by the cancellations, and many are already reporting issues with obtaining refunds or contacting the company for rebooking.
Some customers with canceled tours began expressing their dissatisfaction on Bernie Reisen’s social media channels.
Related: Tour operator near bankruptcy, travelers stranded across Europe
The biggest disruptions to service are being recorded in the North Rhine-Westphalia region where Bernie Reisen is based. The bus company also partnered with local municipalities for some school bus and local railway transportation.
In addition, bus subsidiary of national railway operator Deutsche Bahn has been working to redirect some service to the town of Paderborn in particular.
The company also rented out buses to other operators organizing tours for larger groups. Other customers reported receiving messages about booked trips being postponed to an unspecified date.
Image source: Shutterstock
Bernie Reisen halts some trips, warns of short-term restrictions on others
Amid Bernie Reisen’s bankruptcy, a statement on the company’s website, translated from German, reads: “Therefore, there may be short-term restrictions or cancelations on individual trips.”
According to the company’s online profile, Bernie Reisen has a fleet of 60 buses and minibuses and sold tours starting from multiple cities in Germany. It cited the rising cost of fuel and retaining personnel as the main factors leading to its financial troubles.
More on travel:
- Another regional airline cancels all flights, no refunds
- US government issues sudden warning on Switzerland travel
- Another country just issued a new visa requirement for visitors
- US government issues serious ‘worldwide’ travel warning
“Work is underway to find alternatives to keep bus cancellations in the Paderborn area as low as possible,” the company’s statement reads further.
When FTI Touristik suddenly canceled 175,000 bookings in June 2024, the company’s leadership named an “increased need for liquidity [that] could no longer be bridged” as the reason it filed for bankruptcy, despite securing €125 million from new investors two months earlier.
A year later, the defunct tour operator continues to dodge legal action from travel agencies that had to cover the costs of refunding canceled tours to their customers.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a trip.)
Make a free appointment with TheStreet’s Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
Related: United Airlines will up flights to one of its most exotic destinations
