With the digital age completely upending how the average person books their travel, the market for travel agencies has dropped dramatically over the last two decades.
Many travel agencies serving groups, ultra-luxury travelers, and other niche clients continue to thrive, but as a general trend, there has also been a string of closures since the start of 2026.
Some companies that filed for bankruptcy or collapsed over imminent cash flow problems in 2026 include Virginia-based bus tour operator Sunshine Tours, Florida booking agency North America Destinations, and Boston-based GoPlay Sports Tours LLC.
While not shut down outright, the most recent travel company to make the news over widespread trip cancellations is Maryland’s Charles County-based luxury travel company Younique Ventures. Founded by Kendra Ashe in 2012, the company marketed travelers’ small-group curated travel itineraries and group luxury retreats.
Younique Ventures travelers still waiting for refunds
In July 2026, 70 women who traveled with Younique Ventures on a “Goddess Refresh Experience” trip to southern France and Spain were left stranded abroad after the airline canceled a flight to Spain’s Canary Islands.
Instead of arranging for alternative travel arrangements, Younique Ventures cut the entire trip short by four days and reportedly told customers to find their own way back home.
Amid the travel chaos and complaints from stranded travelers, Younique Ventures also indefinitely postponed trips to Australia, Fiji, and Colombia. For both itineraries, travelers put down deposits and have not received them back as they wait to know when and if the trips will take place.
The latest reporting on the situation shows that many travelers on the canceled European trip are still waiting to receive refunds for the flights and hotel rates they paid when the trip was cut short.
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“I want my money back, not a postponement”
“I want my money back, not a postponement,” Cynthia Quinnie Davis, a customer who put down $15,000 for the Australia and Fiji trip that was initially slated to start on Oct. 18, wrote in a Facebook post.
Other travel agencies that shut down or filed for bankruptcy in 2026:
- AVG Travels: Before entering bankruptcy in May 2026, the Melbourne-based travel agency selling cheap vacation packages to travelers in Australia and New Zealand sent more than 200 travelers an email saying the trips were canceled.
- GoPlay Sports: In April 2026, the men’s basketball team of the University of Dallas was left without a planned trip to compete in the United Kingdom after Boston-based GoPlay Sports Tours LLC accepted two payments of $30,000 and then went unreachable.
- Havantur: Havantur was forced to shut down its main European office in France at the start of 2026 after tourist numbers to the Caribbean country plummeted due to U.S. military actions in Venezuela and threats against the country.
- Vegas Vacations and North America Destinations: Two travel agencies in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Vegas Vacations and North America Destinations, were shut down by regulators within a few days of each other in January 2026 after multiple travelers complained of buying trips and receiving invalid plane tickets and hotel bookings.
In a statement issued at the start of October, Younique Ventures said that the rush of customers filing chargeback requests with their credit card companies made it unable to issue the direct refunds it had intended to process within 60 days of the canceled trips.
“The number of chargebacks that have occurred has escalated due to false and misleading statements that are being made about Younique Ventures and what occurred on the trip in question,” Younique Ventures wrote in an Oct. 2 statement in which it states that the trip cancellation “was very disappointing to many of our travelers and it was to us as well.”
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In an additional statement to Maryland broadcaster WUSA9, the company also went on to say that, as part of the changes that it put in place after the canceled France trip, it will “no longer schedule our group experiences at the same time as other custom trips” and “added dedicated support to manage trips before departure and while travelers are away.”
Related: Popular luxury travel company abruptly cancels all trips