AVG Travels – a Melbourne-based travel agency with offices across New Zealand, Japan and the UK, has gone into liquidation leaving hundreds of holidaymakers in limbo.
Matthew Hutton and Mark Holland of insolvency firm, McGrathNicol were appointed Liquidators of AVG Travels Pty Ltd, effective 26 May 2026. It has taken control of firm’s operations and assess what can be recovered for customers and creditors. The insolvency firm has a branch office in Auckland also.
In an email to affected customers, the liquidators McGrathNicol reportedly said AVG Travels was not able to process refunds for any deposits or payments made because it did not have the funds on hand to do so.
There was also an indication that travel arrangements may not have been secured because AVG Travels had not paid suppliers.
A claim form (Form 535- Formal proof of debt or claim) has also been received by customers to fill and return to liquidators.
Whether customers who prepaid for trips will ever get their money back appears difficult as they would now be considered “unsecured creditors, so they’re at the end of the line for anybody who gets their money back.”.
The announcement follows days of uncertainty for travellers, who reported their tours being cancelled or placed under review just days before they were scheduled to depart. As a result, hundreds of New Zealand and Aussie travellers who had booked trips, including to China this month, are said to have been left chasing tickets, itineraries and elusive refunds.
Several senior citizen couples associated with a Hamilton-based Indian seniors association have also been left out of pocket as their booked 11-day China trip scheduled to leave Auckland on 23 May was cancelled at the last minute. Each traveller had paid $1700+ for this trip.
“We got carried away with their attractive social media advertisements, website claims and reviews – which I now believe some clients were paid $50 travel vouchers for writing positive reviews. We have lost our life savings…” NewsViews was told.
Initially, travellers booked to China were offered the option of travelling in August or September by paying additional $200. Some took the offer, while others were told they would receive their refund “within 30 business days”. Now there seems to be no hope of getting their money back.
One customer Mishka Green claimed to have “paid $35000 for mum’s birthday celebration in Sri Lanka/Maldives and this has certainly been a devastating blow to us.”
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A Wellington resident Sher Khan has reported a “loss of $10,000 for a holiday booked for Sri Lanka and Maldives” and Debbie Higgins has suffered a substantial loss of “$20,000 for a 24-day Spain, Portugal and Morocco tour for September”.
They are not alone. Bob Ginn who lives in Hawera got away comparatively with a much lower loss of $2600 for a lost tour.
It is not yet known how many travellers have been affected with the collapse of this company but the numbers are expected to be near or over a thousand at the least.
Frustrated travellers demanding answers and refunds have set up a Facebook support group page – AVG Travels Scamming Aussies and Kiwis that has now 1.3k members, with many venting their frustration and seeking answers.
There are also some reports about this tour operator’s travellers currently overseas with being stranded and their fear they won’t make it home. One such affected AVG customer, Linda Birchhome told Australia’s Current Affair she was currently “stranded at a airport in Sri Lanka and had to pay for accommodation in the Maldives, which AVG Travels should have already covered.”
Those who had booked with the tour operator are also worried about their personal details being leaked as passports and all personal information was believed to be still with the agency.
AVG Travels Pty Ltd is owned by Duc Tiem Dao, a Vietnamese national living in Melbourne, according to records from ASIC, the financial services regulator. But he is said to have acquired Australian citizenship just weeks ago.
According to the company’s website, the business began as an online travel agency in Vietnam in 2012, established an office in Melbourne in 2015 and opened offices in Japan and the United Kingdom last year. Interestingly, the company incorporated a change in the company’s name from AVG Travels to Alder Journeys Ltd on 26 May 2026- the day liquidators were appointed in Melbourne.
The company’s website claimed to be a member of IATA (International Air Transport Association) with agent code 02365322, but could not be confirmed.
However, accreditation of AVG Travels was removed from a scheme run by the peak body for Australia’s travel businesses more than six years ago for failing to meet “financial and ethical standards”.
