The best tour operators of St. Petersburg in 2020

It's time for summer vacations and thousands of Russians go on trips. The easiest way to organize your vacation is by using the services of a tour operator. The company will select a vacation at the request of the client, taking into account all the little things, take care of the transfer, excursions and insurance. The only thing left to do is to choose a reliable tour operator who will not go bankrupt just before departure and will fulfill all its promises.

Difference between tour operator and travel agent

While these concepts are very similar, the difference between them is huge. The responsibilities of the tour operator include the development and packaging of a tourist product. This, besides just the direction of travel, includes everything else that the vacationer will expect and for which he pays his money. This is a flight, transfer to the hotel and back, accommodation in a room, a possible set of excursions.

More recently, through the fault of irresponsible tour operators, tourists have often been stuck in airport lounges. Special measures have now been developed and implemented at the government level to prevent such situations. A tour operator can start conducting its activities only after providing a cash deposit, which will become a guarantee of its solvency. For this, the organization must contribute money to the "Tourist Assistance" fund. In this case, only a company that has provided a contribution of 2,000,000 rubles or more can become a tour operator.

All tour operators are listed in a special register. Therefore, before paying for the tour, it is recommended to look into this register and make sure that the company is there and is designated as a tour operator. This way you can protect yourself from scammers and dubious companies.

After preparation, the tour goes on sale. The tour operator can sell it on their own or delegate some of this work to other companies. Such firms that provide intermediary services are called travel agents. They can work with several tour operators and are exclusively engaged in the sale of tours, but not their packaging.

The advantage of buying tours from travel agencies is the breadth of choice. Such a company analyzes the client's request and finds the most advantageous offer for him that meets his requirements. The client does not pay for the services of such a company. The travel agent's benefit is already included in the tour price. After all, he buys a product from a tour operator at a special price. It is profitable to buy vouchers from travel agents, as some of them offer their own discounts.

In a good travel agency, in addition to choosing several options, then they will provide the client with all the necessary information - on payment and the date of booking, flights and everything else. In such circumstances, the risk of getting into an unpleasant situation is minimal.

Regardless of where the voucher was purchased, the tour operator is solely responsible for the tour.

Tour operator reliability

The first thing to look at is the number of destinations served. Inexpensive tour operators are guided by mass destinations available to the majority.These include Turkey, Tunisia, in the recent past Egypt and other similar countries. If the situation suddenly changes in one of these countries and travel is prohibited there, the operator will incur heavy losses. This will definitely negatively affect tourists. For a company selling tours in a large number of destinations, the risk of being in the red is minimal.

Another important detail is the presence of its own travel agencies and travel companies in the host countries. The responsibilities of such companies include booking and paying for hotels, organizing transfers, excursions and other entertainment events. For tourists, the rest will be as comfortable as possible if it is constantly supervised by employees of one company.

A good tour operator will always have agreements with several airlines. They affect the cost of the flight. In many packages, airfare makes up the bulk of the tour price.

Also, contracts must be concluded with insurance companies. There is always a risk that something will go wrong. Therefore, even with a fully planned vacation, it can break. They may suddenly cancel the flight, refuse to check in to the hotel, the tour operator may go bankrupt. Then the insurance company gets down to business. In the event of force majeure, the tourist must pay insurance. Whether a person will receive their money depends on the solvency of the insurance company.

List of the best tour operators in St. Petersburg

In assessing the reliability of tour operators, it is usually taken into account how well the company's employees provide services. They also take into account how developed the network of agencies is and how many complaints it has from dissatisfied tourists.

Tez Tour

This international tour operator has over 20 years of experience in the travel business. Therefore, he deservedly takes first place. The company offers more than 30 popular destinations to choose from. Here they are happy to organize a tour to popular Turkey or the exotic Maldives, to the holy places in Israel or to any other place at the request of the client. Tez Tour is one of the largest tour operators not only in Russia, but also in the world. At the same time, this company has the least number of bad reviews from dissatisfied customers - only 1.07%. Therefore, the likelihood of problems during rest is minimal. The company's impressive capital also speaks of the company's reliability. It exceeds 100 million rubles. It is run by an insurance company that has a high reliability rating and is trusted by many analytical agencies.

In addition to organizing tours, the company offers many other services. Here you can organize family vacations, various events and conferences, holidays for special clients. All questions about the organization of recreation are decided only by the employees of this company, including the departure and reception of tourists, the organization of transfers and excursions. Only flights and hotel accommodation are organized by third-party companies, but even with them the company has many contracts. At the same time, tourists from this company never have problems with housing, since there are places in hotels in all directions.

• the largest tour operator;
• a large number of directions;
• impressive size of insurance capital;
• huge agent network;
• few bad reviews;
• many hotels under warranty;
• agreements with airlines.

• not found.

TUI

Tour operator TUI is one of the largest in the European Union. The company has been operating since 1995. The company offers its clients rest in 40 destinations. Moreover, the service will always be at the highest level. The tour operator takes care of its reputation, therefore, the rest for clients is always organized in the best way. The company has its hotels all over the world with a different number of stars. Flights are carried out on the company's private planes, because it has several decent aircraft at its disposal.

TUI will help you organize different types of recreation.This can be a lazy beach option or a rich excursion program, as well as extreme sports destinations. In addition, it is possible to organize a long or short-term cruise on the ship. A special feature of the tour operator is unique offers for certain groups of clients. It can be a youth vacation or a vacation for couples with small children. The company is very reliable, as evidenced by the insurance capital of over 160 million rubles. It is managed by an insurance company with the highest rating.

• the largest tour operator in Europe;
• impressive amount of capital;
• availability of own hotels and aircraft;
• unique offers for specific target audiences;
• huge agent network;
• a small number of negative reviews;
• a large number of tourist destinations.

• not found.

Coral Travel

This major tour operator specializes in travel destinations that are particularly popular with Russians. Here you can buy a ticket to Tunisia, Turkey, Spain and other countries. The company's employees will always offer the client many interesting options for recreation outside the country. You can go on a trip with Coral Travel to 32 destinations. The company has its own hotels in 17 countries with rooms of varying degrees of comfort. Accommodation of tourists depends on the cost of the voucher they have purchased. There are almost never problems with flights, since the company has many agreements with various airlines. Plane tickets can be purchased in any direction.

The insurance capital of the tour operator exceeds 110 million rubles. It is managed by two insurance companies. One of them has an increased reliability rank. The tour operator has a wide network of offices throughout the country in different cities. At the same time, the company develops annually and adds new directions to the existing ones. Most of the customer reviews about the company's work are positive.

• a large number of directions;
• impressive amount of capital;
• a wide network of offices throughout the country;
• low number of negative customer reviews;
• have their own hotels in different countries;
• work experience over 25 years.

• not found.

Pegas Touristik

Pegas Touristik serves the most popular tourist routes. Travel to 22 countries with this tour operator. And it is not necessary to fly by plane. Rail transportation is carried out in many directions. The reliability of this tour operator is evidenced by the experience of more than 20 years and numerous praise from customers. In addition to standard options for sightseeing and beach holidays, here you can choose a sports tour, order a corporate vacation or get VIP service with exclusive options. The company's disadvantage is called confusion in some cases, resulting from too many customers.

The company has agreements with many hotels in different countries. Therefore, tourists do not have problems with accommodation. The financial guarantees of the tour operator exceed 220 million rubles. Therefore, the tourists of this company have no problems with flights and check-in. The insurance company cooperating with Pegas Touristik has the highest reliability rank. This emphasizes the success of the tour operator and inspires confidence in him.

• impressive size of financial guarantees;
• cooperation with a reliable insurance company;
• a huge network of offices throughout the country;
• cooperation with numerous hotels and airlines;
• work experience 25 years.

• more negative reviews than competitors;
• the number of destinations served is less than that of other companies.

AnexTour

This company specializes in such popular destinations as the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Spain. But you can also buy a ticket to other destinations here. AnexTour serves 36 destinations in total. Accommodation and flights are also provided by the tour operator.For this, the company has its own hotels in different countries and its own airline. Therefore, the quality of the service always remains at the highest level. The operator's financial guarantees amount to more than 200 million rubles. This speaks of reliability and responsibility to customers. Reliable insurance company with a high rating cooperates with AnexTour. Therefore, a vacation with this tour operator is never a problem.

Among the offers of AnexTour you can find both quite affordable and elite holiday options. At the same time, even a person with modest income can afford a vacation with this tour operator, since there are a lot of economical tour options. The lack of such suggestions is reflected in negative reviews. In them, dissatisfied customers note that there are problems with checking into hotels, flights and other nuances. At the same time, to the credit of the tour operator, it should be noted that all problems are solved quickly enough.

• availability of own hotels and airlines;
• wide range of tours;
• a large number of directions;
• large size of financial guarantees;
• cooperation with a reliable insurance company.

• a lot of negative reviews regarding budget tours.

Sunmar

Compared to other tour operators, Sunmar has little experience. She has been sending tourists on trips since 2005. Among other companies, Sunmar is notable for its low prices. At the same time, its offers attract customers with fairly good conditions. The vast majority of clients of this tour operator are satisfied with its work and leave laudatory reviews. The reliability of the tour operator is confirmed by the size of financial guarantees of 110 million rubles. In addition, one of the most reliable insurers in the country cooperates with this company. In addition, Sunmar has won several prestigious tourism awards.

The company does not have its own planes or hotels, but has contracts with many carriers and hotels in the field. Therefore, her clients do not have problems with tickets or accommodation. The active development of the tour operator is confirmed by the opening of new destinations in different countries. At the same time, you can buy an inexpensive ticket here without compromising the quality of services.

• significant financial guarantees;
• many hotels are serviced by agreement;
• cooperation with a reliable insurer;
• no problems with tickets;
• economical rest;
• many directions.

• not found.

Biblio Globus

This largest tour operator serves about 3 million tourists every year, which indicates a high level of customer confidence in it. The insurance capital of Biblio Globus is serviced by an insurer with a high rating of reliability. Although the capital itself of this tour operator is small and amounts to only 30 million rubles. In addition to the usual offers of sightseeing and beach holidays, they will help you organize a cruise, sports tour, shopping tours and many other options. For all clients, the company's employees will select the appropriate option for their requests.

The main advantage of Biblio Globus is the 70 destinations it serves. Here you can organize a trip of a different nature to all popular countries. At the same time, there is an opportunity to go overseas and visit the USA, Mexico, Cuba and other countries. You can go on a trip to some countries not only by plane, but also by rail or by bus. Moreover, in some of them the company has its own hotels. In addition to organizing travel, this tour operator has its own online bookstore. Therefore, if desired, along with the voucher, you can immediately purchase a book so that it is not boring on the road.

• a huge selection of popular destinations;
• cooperation with a reliable insurance company;
• different recreation options;
• have their own hotels;
• travel by plane and train;
• own online store.

• low amount of financial guarantees.

The number of tour operators in St. Petersburg is not limited to those presented in the rating. But in order for the rest to really be a success and pass without problems, we advise you to contact them.