BC Group has hired Thomas Martin, director of Meeting Point (FTI) in the Canary Islands, to oversee the daily operations of BC Group and will focus on business development opportunities in the islands, reporting to Mark Robinson, General Manager of BC Group, which is part of the Tourism Division of Alsa Group, the owner of Grupo 1844.
Martin has over 25 years of DMC, hospitality and recruiting experience and was Regional Director of DMC Meeting Point (part of the FTI Group) from 2017 to 2022 and most recently Regional Director of Meeting Point in Mexico where he was responsible for the opening of new DMC offices, recruiting and operations.
Robinson told Maspalomas24H that "as we continue to grow, seeking new opportunities and expanding our operations to new destinations and countries, Martin, with all his experience and knowledge of the DMC and tour operator business in the Canary Islands, will be a key asset in helping BC Group drive continued growth in the islands, will assist me in developing our future growth strategy and will work closely with our colleagues at the Alsa Group to oversee the development of the cruise industry in the various ports."
Martin told Maspalomas24H that "I am delighted to be joining BC Group during its exciting period of growth and look forward to working closely with Mark Robinson and his colleagues in developing new business opportunities and delivering a first-class service to cruise lines, their passengers and crews. I look forward to driving the business forward and continuing to grow by building teams and maintaining the best relationships with cruise lines, port authorities and suppliers in the various ports and destinations we operate in the Canary Islands."
In Germany, the Bavarian Greens have criticised the guarantee granted by Bavaria to FTI in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic as a waste of taxpayers' money. The Bavarian state had guaranteed the group a working capital loan of almost 193 million euros. "Unfortunately, the time has come: almost 200 million euros in state guarantees have been irrevocably thrown to the wind," Ludwig Hartmann, a Green member of parliament, was quoted as saying by DPA.
Hartmann is also calling for a more restrictive guarantee policy in the Free State. "The CSU can no longer decide on its own initiative in its black box to bet on financially dead horses with high tax sums. According to Hartmann, the guarantee was simply an expensive measure to prolong life." According to the Bavarian Ministry of Economics, the guaranteed loan is partially guaranteed. It is not clear how much money the Free State will recover through the insolvency procedure, but the repayment is unlikely to be too high.
Insolvency administrator Axel Bierbach of the Munich law firm Müller-Heydenreich Bierbach & Colleagues said at a press conference that he had expected a very low interest rate. Because the group's debt mountain is enormous. Bierbach estimates that the debt of FTI Touristik GmbH alone amounts to around one billion euros. It is not yet clear what assets these represent. On 1 September, the Munich district court opened insolvency proceedings . Since then, creditors can register their claims in the insolvency register .
The German Travel Insurance Fund (DRSF) has been in full swing since mid-August after some initial problems. According to a spokesperson, "we are still on track." They plan to pay out most of the refunds this autumn. Currently, the DRSF has "significantly" contacted more than 150.000 consumers. The majority have already submitted an application. The payments were made as planned.
