Bike holidays in jeopardy after adventure firm ceases trading

A motorcycle adventure firm has ceased trading days before customers were due to begin a two-week tour in Cambodia.

Riders booked on the £3495 holiday were expecting to travel to Cambodia this Sunday. They were still waiting for flight details from Global Enduro when the firm ceased trading today.

Global Enduro operates 15 off-road motorcycle tours a year to destinations including Asia and South America.

A £4295 trip to five African countries scheduled for February was described as sold out on the firm’s website.

The Civil Aviation Authority said the firm ceased trading on Monday.

A CAA spokesman said around 100 people had future bookings and a “small group” was currently on a tour in India.

He said the group in India would complete its tour and bookings for future dates would be refunded under the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing scheme.

The CAA spokesman said on Monday: “Global Enduro contacted us earlier today to inform us they have gone into administration.”

Iain Stirton, 30, from Aberdeen, said he had been called by the firm and told his Cambodia trip was cancelled.

He had last heard from the company in December, in an email saying: ‘You are in for a treat in February! The flight details will be released in the first week of January.’

He said: “You would have thought they would be able to let us know something about this before the week we’re supposed to be going.”

Other customers complained on Global Enduro’s Facebook page. One wrote: ‘As disappointed as I am to not be going to Cambodia next week, I accept that Global Enduro have ceased to operate. My priority now is to secure a full and immediate refund of my £3.5k.’

Nick Capsey, a director of Global Enduro, told MCN: “We’re absolutely devastated. After a fantastic 10 years the recent economic climate has not been kind to many companies and we’re one of those. These are aspirational adventures but for many it is their second holiday. Finding new customers in the current climate has become extremely challenging.

“Global Enduro started off organising charity tours in 2003 but in recent years have become more focused on adventure expeditions. We know we’ve given people some amazing experiences along our own journey. We’ve seen clients get married and even go on to have Global Enduro babies.

“Before going into administration we unfortunately had a short period where we were unable to confirm our trading position. This regrettably resulted in clients not receiving information as quickly as we would have liked. As an ATOL bonded company we’re working closely with the CAA to ensure our clients can secure a full refund on their flight-inclusive package.”