The tourism agency Fisom, whose slogans are "Discover yourself and the world around you when you travel" and "Freedom is a state of mind", is focusing more on youth travel. One of their advertising posters calls for the now unsuccessful trip to a "surf camp in Portugal". No one is to be seen in the office, which is closed.
One of Fisom's clients, 17-year-old Elisa, is puzzled by the attitude of the tour organizers:
"It's a pity. I have been waiting for this trip since spring. My friends and I have been waiting for this trip. Really, everything went very well in the first few days until we arrived in Spain. All the problems started in Spain. The idea for this trip was very good for this company, but the execution was absolutely nothing. And we are very disappointed in our tour leader, Matīss Dālbergs, for just leaving us with nothing.
"That night, the double-decker white bus came with us - they were thrown out of the bus, told to pack their things and drove away. The travelers of the white double-decker bus slept at night in a petrol station, just in a parking lot on the ground. I was lucky, because my bus was fine and I slept on the bus.
"Of course, buses can break, that's normal - anything can happen on a trip, but the fact that they just abandoned us without any news took and all the spare money that was meant to sustain us. It's just another level. We are just disappointed in our leader that something like this can happen."
Sanita Gertmane, from the Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC), also pointed out the difficulties in communicating with the tour operator: "It has to be said that it is very difficult to communicate with the trader itself and in fact communication is very indirect and very little. (...) In fact, the trader himself also stated that there were solvency problems."
From the point of view of the consumer watchdog, there have been no major problems with this tour operator in the past and the current situation is most likely due to a chain of mishaps during the trip.
The tour operator's license has been suspended following the incident. The authorities believe that the responsibility for what happened should be specific as it was a children's trip.
"The information we have shows that it was a surfing camp. And as we know, 168 children were on their way, 61 of whom ended up in Portugal. And 107 stayed halfway in Spain," said Solvita Martinsone, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Child Protection Centre has passed on the applications received from parents to the police. Children's rights activists believe that if the event was intended as a camp, then such a camp is illegal.
"This is not a camp, whatever anyone wants to call it.
"And what I would like to point out is that parents still have to read very carefully the contract they sign. And if there is the word 'camp', they should still inquire about the relevant training of the people who will accompany the children, whether these children will have, as the relevant Cabinet of Ministers regulations for camps stipulate, at least two adults per 10 children and so on," said Valentina Gorbunova, deputy head of the Child Protection Center.
After the incident, following requests for help from parents of the insured children, the insurers have decided to cover accommodation and meals for all uninsured participants of the trip.
"Travel insurance does not cover such events as such. But given the gravity of the situation, we felt it necessary to step in and help. In any way to ensure the safety of these children on the ground in Spain, where they are, where they are still at the moment, and also to help bring them back to Latvia," said Mārtiņš Rozentāls, Member of the Board of Balta insurance company.
All the repatriated children are expected to return to Latvia by bus on the evening of Tuesday, August 13.
