Foreign travel companies. Rating of the best tour operators in Russia

For the first time we used the services of Solntsatur, we were looking for a tour to Turkey, no matter where, we explained our preferences, the manager Julia suggested a tour in Side to the crown serenity hotel (terrible hotel), Julia praised this hotel, we immediately paid for a tour for 7 days, as with every a day late it became 2 times more expensive, then after 2 weeks I came to my senses that I needed to conclude an agreement and they sent me an agreement by mail without signatures. 3 days before departure, they sent me tickets (it’s good that they sent them at all) in which we were supposed to fly out at 4 a.m. and arrive at 8 a.m. on the first day of our vacation, we confirmed these tickets, on the last day I tried to check in for the plane, but I didn’t succeed, I called the airline, they said that our tickets were canceled by the tour operator (I’m in shock) I call Yulia, she says now I’ll decide everything and send the tickets, sends new tickets in which we are flying at 8 pm on the day we are already we have to lie by the pool in Turkey, and the arrival is at 11 pm, by the time we get to the hotel it will be the next day, this did not suit us, Yulia said that this happens, it is a charter flight, I called the airline, they told me that our flight was not canceled and they couldn’t bear it, then Yulia said call the biblioglobus and figure it out, the biblioglobus sent us back to Yulia, then Yulia for the first time began to say something about the specification of the flight, which I first heard about, she claimed that she told me about this when we were discussing the prices for the tour and payment, she even tried to find a recording of a telephone conversation (she never found it), she swore that no one would return the money to us for the tour and the fact that the trip was paid for 7 days and not 6 did not bother her, in short, through scandals and threats, she finished us off and we we paid her 5000 for specifying the flight and she returned us normal tickets with normal time. She just made us look like suckers. The hotel that she recommended (standard scheme, supposedly her friends were vacationing there) turned out to be just terrible, while we are not picky at all, we wanted a 5-star hotel with normal drinks, animation and something that was clean, everything we wanted was not there, but in fact, the hotel is 3 stars and alcohol and water are all in the way, right from the tap they poured half a glass of water and half a glass of beer in front of us and made excuses that it was a sprite, there was no animation at all, the hotel was for Germans and not for Russians, money was everything in this hotel , if you want alcohol, pay, if you want hamam, pay, if you want a restaurant a la card, there are supposedly 4 of them (but nothing works) if you pay money they will open it. Julia apparently just read us information about this hotel that is listed on their website.

Vacations are a rare and quite expensive event. I want everything to be perfect - the best hotels, fast and hassle-free flights, interesting excursions. Therefore, it is important to entrust the organization of your vacation to a reliable and responsible tour operator.

But choosing the best one is not too easy. There are several criteria that are worth paying attention to - for example, the amount of capital and the reliability of the insurance company working with the company should be studied first. It is also important to look at the year the tour operator was founded. The longer it stays on the market, the higher its reliability - low-quality services would bring the business to the grave.

To make it easier for you to decide, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the reliability rating of Russian tour operators. We selected the best companies based not only on financial performance and services, but also on reviews from real customers. All of them offer their own product, not purchased from other companies, and have receiving companies at the place of arrival of tourists. In addition to the designated destinations, all have tours within the Russian Federation.

TOP 10 best tour operators in Russia

To make it easier to compare key parameters, we have compiled a table. In it you will find everything you need to make initial conclusions about the best tour operators in Russia.

Naturally, the table does not reflect everything that may interest a tourist. To familiarize yourself with all the nuances, we invite you to read detailed descriptions of each tour operator.

10 NTK-Intourist

The oldest tour operator in Russia
Number of directions: 59
Rating (2019): 4.1

And the rating of the most reliable tour operators in Russia, born at the dawn of the USSR, “Intourist” opens. Today it occupies a fairly strong position among international tourism holdings and provides quality holidays in almost 60 countries around the world. It is part of the oldest holding in the world - Thomas Cook Group, which has existed since 1841. The tour operator's share of capital amounts to 46 million rubles. Responsibility for insurance lies with a company with the maximum reliability rating assigned by a number of well-known analytical companies. However, for so many years, Intourist has perfected the organization of recreation almost to perfection.

In addition to tours to the most interesting countries from a tourism point of view (including Japan), the tour operator offers accommodation in its own comfortable hotels. In addition, it has almost the widest and most interesting network of domestic tours, including Crimea. But not all tourists like the way Intourist works. About 7% of customers leave negative reviews. However, there are many times more positive ones. And the tour operator itself supports clients who write an objective opinion about their vacation and gives gifts for filling out the questionnaire.

9 ICS Travel Group

Rental offers
Number of directions: 58
Rating (2019): 4.2

Quite an interesting, although not the largest tour operator with a large list of destinations. Collects information about upcoming events in popular tourist countries and offers it to potential clients so that they can choose the tours that interest them most. Financial guarantees amount to only 30 million rubles. However, it has one of the best insurance companies in terms of reliability rating and more than 95% of positive customer reviews.

On the website you can find an extensive list of promotions and discounts on seasonal offers. So, with the right amount of luck, it’s easy to save money. The tour operator has certain guarantees for hotel accommodation in the country of arrival. But the company’s network of partners is not as extensive as others. When you go on a trip, you can stay not only in a hotel, but also rent separate accommodation. But, unfortunately, so far only in Cyprus. There are several properties that are perfect for large and small groups.

8 Mouzenidis Travel

Best network size
Number of directions: 8
Rating (2019): 4.2

A specialized tour operator that mainly works in the direction of Greece - both mainland and island. It is difficult to find a better tour operator for traveling to this country. You can also go to other countries - for example, Hungary or Cyprus. There are eight directions in total. As a rule, tourists leave quite a lot of positive reviews about the company as a whole. But the lack of professionalism of individual employees can cause some negativity, which, however, is easy to correct.

An important feature is that the tour operator belongs to the huge Mouzenidis Group holding. Due to this, he can provide better service in the areas in which he operates. This includes great hotels, various tourist attractions and much more. We even have our own airline, which means there are almost never any problems with on-time departures and availability of seats. Due to its affiliation with the holding, it has a huge agent network - more than 2000 branches. But there are some disadvantages - given the size of the holding, the capital of a particular tour operator is small - only 50 million rubles. At the same time, the insurance company that ensures reliability does not have the highest, although quite good, rating, “four”.

7 Biblio Globus

Best number of destinations
Number of directions: 67
Rating (2019): 4.3

In 2017, more than 2.8 million tourists used the services of the tour operator. In less than 2018, 2.2 million people already went on a trip with the help of Biblio Globus, so a new record is quite possible. Such trust among clients is not accidental - insurance is provided by one of the insurance companies with the highest reliability rating. Although the tour operator’s capital is small - only 30 million rubles. The company's offerings include shopping tours, cruises, active recreation and much more. It's easy to find something to suit your taste.

The main positive quality of the operator is almost 70 countries to which you can go on vacation with its help. “Biblio Globus” allows you to organize a vacation of any type in most popular tourist countries in the world, including the USA. It allows you to get there not only by plane, but also by train, and in a number of countries it has its own hotels with comfortable living conditions. An interesting feature is that the tour operator has its own online bookstore, so when purchasing a tour you can also buy something to read for the trip.

6 Sunmar

The best combination of price and quality
Number of directions: 21
Rating (2019): 4.4

The tour operator positions itself as a dealer of the most economical offers in Russia. In general, this is true - Sanmar offers quite profitable tours with good conditions. More than 95% of clients leave positive reviews about the company's tours. Despite its “young” age (the tour operator has been operating since 2005), there is no doubt about its reliability - 110 million capital and the best insurance company will allow you to entrust your vacation to Sanmaru. In addition, the company has already won several prestigious awards for its contribution to the development of tourism.

I am glad that the company has an excellent network of partners - there are agreements with dozens of airlines and thousands of hotels in all directions. Therefore, there are practically no problems with places even during the holiday season. Also, every year many new directions and contracts appear, which allows the company to actively develop. In general, we can say that a tour operator allows you to travel economically to one of the proposed countries, maintaining a balance between the price of the tour and the quality of services.

5 AnexTour

Quite a lot of economical travel packages
Number of directions: 35
Rating (2019): 4.5

A company that occupies one of the first places in organizing holidays in Spain, Thailand and the Dominican Republic. Allows you to enjoy your holiday to the fullest in 35 destinations. Anex Tour also takes care of accommodation and flights - the company has its own hotels and air carriers, which improves the quality of the services provided. Has a high capital - more than 200 million rubles. Serviced by an insurance company with a fairly high reliability rating, according to analytical agencies. So you can safely go on vacation with this tour operator.

It’s convenient that the company strives to offer tours of varying prices - you can find both elite offers and quite economical ones. By the way, there are quite a lot of the latter - even with a small income you can afford a completely comfortable holiday. Unfortunately, the company with such tours is not perfect - more than 7% of tourists leave negative reviews, noting some problems with accommodation, flights or other aspects of the holiday. However, the tour operator quickly resolves misunderstandings that often arise.

4 Pegas Touristik

The biggest financial guarantees
Number of directions: 22
Rating (2019): 4.6

A tour operator covering the most popular tourist routes and in great demand. Allows you to travel to 22 destinations both by plane and by train. More than 24 years of experience and tens of thousands of satisfied customers underline the company’s reliability. The list of services is extensive - in addition to standard options, there are sports, corporate and VIP recreation with unique parameters. However, due to the mass nature, small problems and confusion may arise - a little more than 5% of clients were not entirely satisfied with the service.

I am glad that the tour operator has a wide network of contracts - more than 2.5 thousand hotels guarantee accommodation in all areas of vacation. The company has more than 220 million rubles as financial guarantees, so in the event of unlikely problems it will easily pay compensation to all tourists. In addition, Pegas Touristik cooperates with an insurance company, which a number of analysts assign the highest reliability rating, which once again emphasizes its success and increases the level of trust.

3 Coral Travel

Two insurance companies
Number of directions: 32
Rating (2019): 4.7

A tour operator specializing in popular holiday destinations - for example, Turkey, Spain, Tunisia and so on. But for those who want to visit other countries there are many interesting offers. In total, the company serves 32 destinations. And in 17 of them it has its own hotels. Tourists are accommodated in rooms of varying degrees of quality and comfort, depending on the cost of the tour and the chosen conditions. The tour operator has a wide network of airline partners, so tickets are almost always available in all directions.

The company has quite a large capital - 110 million rubles. An additional bonus to reliability is working with two insurance companies, one of which has the highest rating. The second one is not ideal, but its very presence as insurance allows us to note that the tour operator is doing great in terms of reliability. I am glad that in Russia alone, Coral Travel has more than 680 offices in many localities. In addition, the company does not rest on its laurels - several new destinations, dozens of contracts with hotels and air carriers, and thousands of satisfied customers leaving positive reviews consistently appear throughout the year.

2 TUI

European reliability
Number of directions: 39
Rating (2019): 4.8

The largest tour operator in the European Union, operating since 1995. Allows you to go on vacation to 39 destinations with the highest quality services. “Tui” cares about its reputation, so it strives to organize its clients’ holidays in the best possible way. In particular, the tour operator offers its own hotels of various star ratings and levels of service, and organizes flights on private planes - the company has several comfortable aircraft at its disposal.

I am glad that the tour operator allows you to organize various types of vacations - from lazy beach holidays to extreme sports. Also in the price list you can find full-fledged cruises of various durations. Everything depends only on the client’s wishes. Among the features are unique recreation concepts created for a specific target audience - for example, for young people or for couples with small children. As for reliability, a capital of more than 160 million rubles and an insurance company with the highest rating allow you to entrust your vacation to Tui.

1 Tez Tour

Best percentage of satisfied customers
Number of directions: 30
Rating (2019): 4.9

The first place is deservedly occupied by an international tour operator with more than 20 years of experience in the market. Offers more than 30 different tourist destinations - from popular Turkey to Israel and the Maldives. One of the largest tour operators in Russia and in the world, which has a minimal percentage of negative reviews - only 1.07%. This means that problems with your vacation are unlikely to arise - the reviews of more than 98% of vacationers can be trusted. The reliability of the tour operator is confirmed by the size of its capital of 100 million rubles. At the same time, management is entrusted to one of the most reliable insurance companies with the highest rating from a number of analytical agencies.

The company has quite a variety of services. You can organize not only a family or solo vacation, but also a conference or vacation for VIP clients. It is convenient that Tez Tour organizes holidays exclusively on its own – tourists are sent and received by the company’s employees. The only “outsiders” on vacation are hotels and airlines, with which the tour operator has many agreements. By the way, there are guaranteed hotel rooms in most destinations, so problems with housing are unlikely.

In the Soviet era, tourism was easier. Very few were released abroad. Within the country, the state also did not particularly strive to develop tourism, believing that the builders of communism should not relax in the summer.

But in recent decades, tourism has become, although risky, a profitable business that attracts a lot of money. How to have a good rest and how to choose a good-quality tour operator?

Problems in the tourism sector

How to understand how well a tour operator does its job? What are the most reliable tour operators? This problem has turned out to be especially acute for Russian tourists recently. News that another travel agency has announced the cessation of operations, and at this time its tourists are waiting in vain for a plane at the airport or trying to check into a hotel abroad, are published in the media more and more often. At the same time, the “characters of the report” are not weak, newly emerged companies, but quite stable, popular brands.

How can a Russian traveler navigate this unstable sea of ​​tourism? Is there a safety rating of tour operators that you can rely on? Is it possible to evaluate Russian tour operators? A review of individual firms reveals the complexity of the situation.

Methods for finding a reliable operator

Reviews of tour operators in the media, reflecting the failure of tourism market players, are not isolated cases, but a common problem. Let us turn to the expert data presented in official sources and the media: recently, almost two dozen tour operators have gone bankrupt, and because of this, over fifty thousand Russians have found themselves in a difficult situation at the holiday destinations.

Periodic failures in the tourism industry force both vacationers themselves and specialists in this field to look for certain signs of the reliability of companies, considering both individual characteristics and system-wide provisions.

Development of travel companies

Experts call active business promotion one of the factors that can be a guideline for checking the reliability of a tour operator. If a company is not marking time, is forming, and is expanding the scope of its brand, then it most likely has large financial reserves. A good sign is also the presence in the structure of the company’s services of new services, popular and interesting excursion programs. An example of such a company is Intourist Tour Operator.

Office and official website

Some experts suggest working with a travel company based on clothing. A sign of a company's wealth can be, in particular, expensive office space in the city center, good repairs and equipment. Another possible, although not direct indicator, is a functional, informative and high-quality website that is constantly updated. Reviews of tour operators look great compared to such sites.

Forecast for the future

Another factor highlighted by market analysts is the ability of a tour operator to book tours long before the departure date. This indicates that the company has a sufficient set of connections - with hotels, airlines, and various types of intermediary organizations that help the client select vacation options. And reviews of tour operators of this level stand out especially positively against the general background.

Permanence

The business concept that characterizes reliable tour operators determines the constant contact of the company with partners. This is important not only from the point of view of creating profitable offers for customers, but also from the point of view of having backup options in case things go wrong somewhere. The Intourist Tour Operator company, for example, has been around for quite a long time and continues to enjoy well-deserved popularity among clients.

Charter flights and air services

Some experts have a negative attitude towards the practice of companies taking clients on vacation on charter flights. A more reliable option is when passengers depart according to the regular aviation schedule. And therefore, when a client is interested in how to find out the level of reliability of a tour operator, you can look at the model of interaction between the travel agency and airlines.

Travel agency specialization

Other specialists in the tourism market define the narrow scope of activity of a travel agency as a significant positive criterion. It can be expressed, in particular, in activities in a single geographical direction, state or travel theme.

Despite the fact that the most reliable tour operators in Russia have greater financial resources compared to medium-sized firms, the latter can safely compete with big players in certain sectors and even attract clients to themselves. At the same time, Russians will have the appropriate volume and level of service.

Full payment for the tour

Among the most common problems encountered in the domestic tourism market is the refusal or sudden lack of funds from the operator to pay for flight services and hotel reservations. The company's client, upon arriving at the airport, finds out that he cannot check in for the plane due to the fact that his seat has not been paid for by the company. The same situation can happen upon arrival at the hotel. To prevent such cases, experts suggest working with tour operators who promptly pay for the services of their counterparties. But how can you identify the most reliable tour operators in advance?

Checking travel agencies

Even if the company makes promises to pay in full for the tour, the traveler still needs to check the services of tour operators before departure. You need to call the hotel or airline and check that you really have a reservation.

This data is not private, and such checks are not prohibited. In this case, you need to not only know that the plane ticket and a seat in the room have not only been paid for, but also check everything by dates, and also find out that a seat on the plane is available not only for the flight to the holiday destination, but also back.

The role of the state in the tourism sector

Of course, the state cannot take a passive position in the face of such negative consequences of the activities of unreliable travel agencies. The government, for example, has increased the entry level of travel agencies into the Register of Tour Operators. Mandatory factors include the provision of mandatory correct financial statements, as well as the transfer of information related to the personal business reputation of the management of the travel agency. Another mandatory factor in the financial direction is the existence of bank obligations for travel agencies associated with charter flights.

With the introduction of this system, the amount of travel agency funds needed in the process of work will be insured. For example, we are talking about allocating certain amounts for each tourist to special funds that can be used if problems arise.

Government agencies in the field of tourism

Today, the powers of Rostourism in the field of control and supervisory actions are increasingly increasing. If violations are discovered in the activities of a travel agency during the inspection process, information about such an agency may be removed from the Register. Such a travel agency, in accordance with the legal framework, cannot operate legally.

This means that the operation of the company will be considered a criminal offense in the form of illegal activities. Such unreliable companies are published on the official websites of Rosreestr and Rostourism. There is also information about reliable companies. For example, Dolphin Tour Operator has a good reputation.

Register of travel companies

Now a little about the Registry. All tour operators can operate legally only if their brand is on the official Register. Thus, the Dolphin Tour Operator company, popular among certain segments of Russians, is on this list.

The register is state-owned and operates at the federal level throughout the country. Tour operators of both the largest cities in Russia and small provincial ones are required to meet the criteria defined at the state level.

The state register of travel agencies gradually began to operate back in 2015 at the suggestion of V.V. Putin. Such changes began to be carried out in order to oust false companies from the market that deceive Russians and create a bad image in general about such travel agencies. If the chosen agency is not in the registry, it is best to refuse the operator’s services altogether, since there is a serious danger of fraud. You should only work with those who do business openly and based on positive reviews.

Currently (2017), any travel company, such as Danko Tour Operator, must prove the fact of signed agreements with partners (hotels, charter flights, etc.), and also be included in the list of companies in the registry.

Online verification of a travel company

How to check the reliability of a tour operator using online analytics? Today, many tourists are looking for a tour organizer via the Internet. The first thing a traveler sees is the company’s online representation, i.e., website. If there is no website at all, maybe you should refuse the services of a travel agency? If the resource is made with high quality, informative and regularly updated (like, for example, the tour operator Danko), in most cases the company can be trusted. But, of course, you should not rely only on the subjective assessment of the travel agency’s web resource.

The purpose of the rating is to bring transparency to the assessment of the work of tour operators based on open data, without the intention of predicting the bankruptcy of certain companies. This rating will be useful to all travelers in order to see data on the work of major tour operators.

Scoring system: The maximum possible final score of a tour operator based on the sum of all criteria is 100 points. The rating includes 24 largest tour operators, which were assessed according to 10 main criteria characterizing the tour operator in terms of reliability.

Tour operator

Key Facts

Rating of Russian tour operators 2019

A huge number of lovers of exciting holidays prefer to spend weekends and holidays traveling. For some, traveling is a great opportunity to have a great time, and for some, it is a tourist hobby that completely changes their lifestyle. To avoid disappointment and deception, you need to know about the tour operator you trust to plan your vacation. It is also important that the company meets the indicators of a high level of service and reliability.

Parameters for evaluating travel companies

To choose a tour operator in Moscow that you can trust, you need to evaluate his professional level. You will need to find out how long the company has been on the market, as well as what services it provides.

• First of all, you should define the concept of “the largest tour operator”. By “large” we mean a tour operator that owns large assets. Such a company is able to offer its clients many different offers in terms of the number of destinations related to the field of foreign and domestic tourism. It is very important that quantitative characteristics do not affect the quality of the services provided.
• Further, the company’s reliability rating and the duration of its work in the travel services market are necessarily assessed. After all, situations may occur in which clients, guided by the description of the tour in the booklet, actually go there and find themselves in much worse conditions. People find themselves deceived by a tour operator who did not fulfill the promised conditions and, instead of a luxurious vacation, provided services of mediocre quality.
• The most popular vacation is where there is a large influx of tourists, that is, an increased demand for certain services. If the proposed direction is in high demand, then it is worth focusing your attention on it. You should also check what additional services are offered: obtaining a visa, issuing insurance, making hotel reservations. You can rely on colorful stories from friends, or use the Internet and look at reviews. It is logical that preference should be given to the travel agency that has the largest number of positive ratings from clients.

This decision is due to the fact that on June 16, the Bank of Russia revoked the license of IC Univers-Garant.

"Companies excluded from the register do not have the right to sell tourism products as tour operators, however, they are obliged to fulfill all their obligations under previously concluded agreements with clients. Tourists will not suffer as a result of the exclusion of tour operators from the register. As soon as the companies formalize proper financial security for the responsibility of the tour operator and in the prescribed manner will send supporting documents to Rostourism, they will be restored to the register,” explains Rostourism.

However, experts believe that the actions of the Federal Tourism Agency are not entirely legal.