Bankrupted Russian tour operator pays off debts to local partners

Lanta-Viet, a local branch of the bankrupted tour operator Lanta-Tur Voyach, is back in operation to finish all proceedings related Russian tourists and pay off debts to their partners in Mui Ne, according to Nguyen Van Khoa, chairman at the Tourism Association in the coastal province of Binh Thuan.
Last Sunday, the debts to some resorts have been paid off, while others are working with Lanta-Viet on collating documents for payment.
According to Khoa, the operator is VND10 billion (US$480,000) in debt to their 17 partner hotels and resorts in Mui Ne.
A Lanta-Viet representative pledged to liquidate all debts within a few days.
Up to February 5, around 70 Russian tourists had left Phan Thiet city in Binh Thuan province to fly home.
The last Lanta-Viet tourists are scheduled to leave Vietnam on February 8.
Lanta-Tur Voyach is one of the leading Russian tour operators, working with more than 6000 agencies in Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, and the Baltic region. Due to financial problems, the Russian-based headquarters halted operations on January 27, causing thousands of their customers to be stranded in India, Thailand and Vietnam.