Published on
September 3, 2025
By: Paramita Sarkar
Romanian tour operator Cocktail Holidays is on the verge of bankruptcy, leaving travelers stranded across Mediterranean destinations including Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Türkiye. The sudden financial distress follows a year in which multiple European travel companies, including Great Little Escapes, Jetline Holidays, and MixxTravel, ceased operations, affecting thousands of tourists and highlighting a growing crisis in the European tour sector.
What Happened to Cocktail Holidays?
Cocktail Holidays, launched in 1993 and based in Bucharest, has been offering group tours to popular Mediterranean destinations such as Greece, Spain, and Cyprus. The operator currently faces serious financial difficulties, with 400 to 500 travelers directly affected by canceled bookings. Customers arriving at destinations have reported discovering that hotel reservations were invalid. The company has stated that the issues stem from temporary cash flow problems, influenced by broader economic conditions, but it has not formally filed for bankruptcy protection yet.
Who Is Affected by the Bankruptcy Risk?
Travelers from multiple European countries are impacted, particularly those on Mediterranean tours in Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Türkiye. The current situation mirrors previous tour operator collapses, such as Swedish provider MixxTravel, which abruptly canceled tours in July 2025, leaving approximately 1,300 travelers stranded. Travelers are also being assisted by partner Romanian tour operators, including Christian Tour, Paralela 45, Dertour, Anima Wings, and Coral Travel, to ensure they can continue their tours or return home safely.
Where Is the Crisis Taking Place?
The financial and operational crisis affects travelers across multiple European Mediterranean destinations. Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Türkiye have seen travelers stranded due to last-minute cancellations, while Bucharest serves as the operational headquarters of Cocktail Holidays. This situation is part of a broader European tour sector disruption that has impacted multiple countries and operators over the last 12 months.
When Did the Problems Escalate?
The problems for Cocktail Holidays escalated in mid-2025, following months of economic pressure and operational strain. Other travel companies, including Great Little Escapes and Jetline Holidays in the UK, ceased operations in June 2025, while MixxTravel in Sweden declared bankruptcy at the end of July 2025. Cocktail Holidays’ operational issues have been ongoing, with affected travelers arriving at destinations and discovering booking failures during the summer peak travel season.
Why Is This Occurring Now?
The current disruption in European tours is the result of prolonged financial challenges, heightened by difficult economic conditions and temporary cash flow shortages. The pattern reflects wider vulnerabilities in the European tourism and travel sector, which has seen multiple operators collapse despite previous financial injections and insurance coverage measures. The Romanian Ministry of Economy has confirmed awareness of Cocktail Holidays’ financial troubles and is monitoring whether the company can make last-minute payments to creditors to avoid a full shutdown.
How Are Travelers Being Assisted?
Partner travel companies and agencies have stepped in to mitigate the impact on tourists. Romanian tour operators and affiliated agencies have provided alternative arrangements, placing affected travelers on existing tours or organizing new bookings to ensure that they can return home safely. This assistance aims to prevent travelers from being stranded in Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Türkiye and demonstrates the collaborative measures within the European travel sector to manage sudden operational failures.
Historical Context of European Tour Operator Failures
The recent financial instability is part of a continuing trend in the European tourism sector. The largest recent collapse occurred when German tour company FTI Touristik GmbH declared bankruptcy in June 2024, canceling over 175,000 tours despite a €125 million funding boost earlier that year. FTI Touristik had been described as “too big to fail” by industry analysts, but liquidity challenges ultimately led to the operator’s shutdown. Cocktail Holidays’ situation reflects the vulnerability of smaller and medium-sized tour companies within a fragile economic environment.
Travelers stranded
Cocktail Holidays’ near bankruptcy has left travelers stranded across Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Türkiye, revealing vulnerabilities in the European tour operator landscape. The Romanian government, through the Ministry of Economy, is actively monitoring the situation to ensure creditors and tourists are protected. With partner travel companies stepping in to manage bookings and repatriate stranded tourists, the situation is being contained, but the crisis underlines the need for strengthened financial oversight and operational resilience in the European travel and tourism sector.
Travelers are advised to monitor official government and travel websites for updates, as the situation evolves, and to verify bookings before departure to mitigate risks associated with tour operator financial instability.
