Arena Travel, a specialty tour operator whose offerings include such esoteric product as an Elvis Week in Memphis package, has acquired The River Cruise Line and Diamond Rail Holidays brands from Diamond Shortbreak Holidays after the company’s failure.
The announcement followed the March 16 confirmation from Abta that Diamond Shortbreak Holidays Ltd had ceased trading due to “financial difficulties.”
Leicestershire-based Diamond Shortbreak Holidays sold city breaks, river cruises, walking holidays and coach and rail trips. An estimated 7,000 bookings affecting as many as 16,000 people were affected by the shutdown of the company.
In a statement that accompanied the announcement of the acquisition, Steve Goodenough, managing director of Arena Travel, which is based in Ipswich, said “Our aim is to provide the same rail or river cruise holiday on the same date and at the same price to as many of the 5,000 who have booked a holiday for the season ahead as possible … Thanks to the financial protection in place, customers will be covered for any loss of money.”
