MyTravel sails away from cruise ship operations

MyTravel Group, the troubled British tour operator that owns Panorama and Direct Holidays in Ireland, has withdrawn from its cruise ship operations, although it will continue to sell the cruise products of other third party providers.

The company, formerly called Airtours, has agreed arrangements with Louis Ltd, a cruise and hotel group listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange, under which Louis will take over operation of three ships.

The deal will result in a provisional exceptional loss for the year ending 30 Sept 2004 of £16 (€23.9m) for MyTravel.

Last month in a trading statement the company said although its current financial arrangements were in place till mid-2006, it was already looking at ways of restructuring its balance sheet to bring the company back to full financial health.