Overland touring specialist operator Dragoman is mothballing operations until long-haul travel is feasible again in the wake of the pandemic.
The decision, taken in the Aito-member’s 40th year of operations, will see the company’s 27 trucks being parked up around the world and refunds made on all future bookings.
The few staff still working will be “flat out” handling booking refunds.
Those employees will leave the company once all refunds have been made and the firm will mothball its offices and all operations for as long as is necessary before long-haul travel is able to resume.
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Dragoman operates in Asia, Africa and North and South America.
Director Charlie Hopkinson said: “This has been a very tough decision to take. We thought back in 2020 that a chink of light meant we’d soon be overlanding again, albeit perhaps to countries closer to home than the norm.
“But we are now 16 months into the pandemic, and long-haul travel in the way that Dragoman has operated for the past 40 years is, sadly, unlikely to be possible in the short to medium term.
“We have got to batten down the hatches and to sit it out as best we can, much as we hate the idea of doing so.
“This means refunding our loyal customers who have yet to travel and agents worldwide, suspending our operations and closing down our HQ. No new bookings will be taken until we see light at the end of the tunnel and feel confident that we can re-start our operations.”
He added: “We are desperately sad to have to bid au revoir to everyone for now – our loyal in-house road crew and expedition leaders, engineers, reservations team and admin staff, all of whom have worked hard to keep things ticking over; our sales agents worldwide and in the UK; the many associated businesses with whom we’ve been linked, some for the full 40 years. And, of course, our loyal customers, many of whom have travelled with us multiple times.
“Sadly, however, there is no alternative but to shut up shop until the world’s borders are once again open to travel.”
Hopkinson said: “To those who have bookings with us, we’d appreciate your patience until we contact you, please; we have only a small skeleton team working at present, and we will contact everyone in strict date order.
“It will take time, but you will hear from us just as soon as possible. Please do not try to reclaim your funds via your credit card company – this will take a great deal of time and effort on your part and it also means that we will be unable to refund you ourselves; thank you.
“This is not the end. The decision to pause is to ensure that Dragoman can – and will – live on in the future. We’ve carried 77,000 passengers around the world during the past 40 years, about which we are rightly proud.
“Together we have delivered so much to the communities through which we have passed; the Dragoman way of travelling has always been sustainable. We’ve bought from local markets, worked with local suppliers and individual guides, we’ve employed local garages and mechanics to service our trucks during long trips, and we’ve introduced people from different worlds and enabled better understanding between them. And we will do so again.
“Thank you one and all – our travellers, our crew, our staff, our agency partners and our overseas suppliers – for your passion, loyalty, understanding and support. Dragoman is what it is because of you, one and all.
“Again, this is not the end. Dragoman will return once the situation worldwide allows such a step. While we don’t know yet how long that will be, once things are clearer we will be in touch with all concerned to let them know.”
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