Sports operator, F1 Grand Prix Tours, has closed its doors and gone into liquidation after 15 years of hosting international F1 and MotoGP event tours.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the international tourism industry, including F1 Grand Prix Tours, mainly as a result of international travel bans, as well as the unprecedented cancellation of all major motorsport events worldwide. The devastating effects of the above have unfortunately forced the company into liquidation,” said the company in an email sent to agent partners this week.
In its notification the operator requested that agents direct their queries about the liquidation to Vardakos Attorneys on 010 140 1330 or at vardakos@worldonline.co.za.
Owner of The Departure Lounge, Carla Palma, told Travel News that she had been trying to get hold of F1 Grand Prix Tours to request a refund for her passengers since the April Vietnamese Grand Prix was cancelled due to the pandemic but had received no response from them. Carla’s five passengers had paid over R100 000 to the tour operator for the trip.
“Eventually I contacted Qatar to find out if the tickets had been refunded or if my passengers could elect to hold on to them as vouchers. The reservations agent I spoke to told me that the tickets had already been refunded to the ticketing agent,” said Carla.
Carla then received F1 Grand Prix’s liquidation notification on Wednesday morning but says the attorneys mentioned in the email (Vardakos Attorneys) denied that they were the appointed liquidators.
When Travel News contacted F1 Grand Prix Tours for more information, they replied in an email received late yesterday afternoon: “We can confirm that F1 Grand Prix tours was placed in liquidation and at this stage no liquidator has been appointed by the Master of the High Court Johannesburg (Master’s office). We are not in a position to respond to any other questions at this stage.”
