30-year-old travel company goes into liquidation, all trips canceled
Over the last 12 months, a number of travel companies in both the U.S. and Europe have ended up having to shut down amid a market of poor consumer sentiment and strong competition.
Icelandic tour company Tango Travel was left incapacitated by the earlier bankruptcy of partner Play Airlines and shut down in November. Swedish travel company MixxTravel and French cruise operator Expedis Exploration also left travelers with booked trips struggling to get refunds and alternative accommodations in abrupt shutdowns in the fall of 2025.
Several travel agencies in the United Kingdom have also suffered a similar fate — tour operators Great Little Escapes and Jetline shut down within a few weeks of each other in the summer of 2025, while New Era Travel entered liquidation in November.
Hertfordshire-based agency Regen Central Ltd became one of the first travel company collapses of 2026, after it lost the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing certificate required of British tour operators at the start of January.
Gold Crest Holidays "ceased trading with immediate effect," company says
The latest travel agency to join this unenviable list is fellow British operator Gold Crest Holidays.
Established in the town of Ilkley in West Yorkshire in the 1990s, the travel agency got its primary business from selling Brits tours to Paris and Disney Paris but also sold charter bus packages to other cities in France, as well as Germany and Austria, during the season of Christmas markets.
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"After more than 30 years of creating unforgettable holidays, we are deeply saddened to announce that Gold Crest Holidays has ceased trading with immediate effect and has taken steps to enter voluntary liquidation," Gold Crest Holidays now states in a pop-up to anyone who tries to go on their site.
"This difficult decision follows the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, strategic changes in key partner arrangements that adversely affected our business, and a challenging trading environment with significantly rising costs."
The company also operated under names including Advent, Advent Tours, and Overseas Dream Weddings; the latter branch of the business organized travel packages for destination weddings.
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"We are truly sorry we can no longer continue": Gold Crest Holidays
The owners go on to add that they are "immensely grateful to our loyal customers, travel agents, suppliers, and dedicated staff for your support over the years" and are "truly sorry we can no longer continue."
These travel companies went bankrupt in 2025:
- Great Little Escapes: The British travel company filed for bankruptcy after running up losses of £77,000 ($103,000 USD).
- Unitravel Kft: The Budapest-based tour operator blamed "new, foreign companies enter[ing] Hungary with huge financial resources" for a financial breakdown that led to it having to suddenly cancel trips that in some cases were already halfway through.
- MixxTravel: The Malmö-based travel company was forced to cancel trips and wind down operations after being declared bankrupt by a judge in August 2025.
- Tango Travel: The Icelandic tour operator went bust in November 2025 after major partner Play Airlines filed for bankruptcy and stopped operations a month earlier.
- New Era Travel: Also ceased operations in November 2025. The Hampshire-based tour operator took British travelers to Spain, Australia, and Las Vegas, among other destinations on multiple continents.
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Promising any affected customers refunds that can be requested through the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and regulators that initiate any future proceedings, Gold Crest Holidays states that "all future departures are cancelled."
Travelers who already received their park tickets or hotel bookings may still be able to use them but are encouraged to check validity directly. The abrupt shutdown also affects hundreds of Yorkshire travel agents who worked with the agency to book trips and now also have to provide refunds for their clients.
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