It is always sad to lose a travel business, but to lose one as well-liked as Preston Travel Group is a particular blow.
While the unrest in Egypt over recent years seems to have been the final straw, it appears likely the company had been retrenching for some time and was as much a victim of the wider difficulties in the market since 2008.
It is a particular shame that the business couldn’t be saved just as consumer confidence appears to be returning. We hope that those excellent staff who remained until the end soon find new positions in the industry.
But it is also worth recognising that failures such as Preston’s have been surprisingly rare in recent years.
The failure of Goldtrail was back in the news this week as a civil claim began in London’s High Court. It serves as a reminder that travel failures have been at record lows since Goldtrail’s high-profile demise in 2010.
This trend is in part a testament to the way many firms have changed their models and managed their businesses in challenging times.
It may also be a reflection of the approach that regulators have taken with regards to ailing companies since reforms of the Atol scheme and its funding took hold.
No company collapse is good. But considering the devastation that trading conditions could have wreaked on travel, we should be thankful that failures such as Preston Travel Group’s have been few and far between.