The association of tourism business leaders of Ukraine (ALTU) and TUI-Ukraine tour operator have initiated the introduction of mandatory insurance of tour operators with a limit of EUR 1 million to cover risks if tour operators become bankrupt, TUI-Ukraine Director General Volodymyr Schupak has said.

"We propose that we start from EUR 1 million for a tour operator, which would allow for lifting tension and take tourists back to the country [in base of bankruptcy]. This sum is to cover the weekly volume of charter operations of an average tour operator. We think not only about protecting our business, we want that trips in travel agencies for tourists could be safe," he said at a meeting of the tourism press club in Kyiv on Thursday.

Schupak said that the association had presented a similar initiative in previous years.

"In 2012-2013, ALTU introduced voluntary insurance of responsibility. All operators insured then – we set the limit of EUR 100,000. It happened that at the moment Proland tour operator become bankrupt and it was insured for the sum of EUR 200,000. Thanks to this initiative for the voluntary insurance, it was managed to pay money to tourists, not 100%, but around 60-65% of the cost of the tour," he said.

He said that then the market did not support his, but this should be the single position of the market. Now it is urgent after suspension of operation of the Hot Tours tour network and News travel operator.

"The situation on the Ukrainian tourism market causes alarm both with tourists and large tour operators," he said.

The association's experts said that this type of insurance could cost 1.5-2% of the insurance sum per year.

"EUR 15,000-20,000. These are not large expenses of a tour operator. This would not affect the cost of tours – tourists would buy it at a market price," he said.

Schupak said that travel agencies which sell tours organized by tour operators are to insure their responsibility to tour operators for EUR 50,000, or have a bank guarantee worth EUR 50,000.

"It does not matter if it is a bank guarantee or insurance, the main thing that the financial mechanism must work," he said.