With the extended border closures some clients have naturally raised the question about our financial viability and that of our suppliers. We are happy to provide the following information.
What happens if our overseas suppliers cannot honour the credit?
Other than a select few airlines, your credit is with Bunnik Tours. This means that if, for whatever reason, our supplier does not honour our credit with them we will still honour our credit to you. Your credit is safe and can be used towards any Bunnik Tour.
As a family business we value relationships above all else and our relationships with our suppliers run deep. Many have been working with us for 15 years and are themselves family companies. During this difficult COVID-19 time we have been supporting each other and getting ready for the time when our borders reopen and we can travel again.
What about the financial viability of Bunnik Tours?
On the day our borders closed Bunnik Tours turned 25. Over those 25 years we have built a solid business; first as a travel agency, and then some 15 years ago we created our touring brand.
Throughout these years our financial philosophy has not changed – we invest in the business and build a strong foundation. This has allowed us to weather many storms including Sept 11, the Global Financial Crisis, Europe’s volcanic ash cloud, SARS and the Arab Spring/Egypt Revolution.
Dennis Bunnik’s qualification as a chartered management accountant (CIMA UK) has taught us the importance of having a strong inhouse finance team comprising Chief Finance Officer Adam (ex BDO) and management accountant Laura (ex Ernst & Young). This allows us to have full visibility over all aspects of the company’s financial health in real time.
We are both ATAS and IATA accredited and surpass the financial health benchmarks set by each. We are audited annually by BDO and have quarterly board meetings with our external accountants & advisors. The company has no debt and we own our business premises, meaning we have not had to have difficult conversations with the landlord about rent relief.
Since day 1 in 1995 all client monies have been kept in a separate bank account and only used for their proper purpose. This helps to explain why we are so disciplined in not refunding airline tickets until we have received the money back from the airline.
Bunnik Tours is the current AFTA National Travel Industry Award-winner for Best Tour Operator International and Dennis Bunnik is the chair of the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO). We are actively involved in helping to improve the overall professionalism of the Australian travel industry.
Whilst COVID19 has been painful and we have had to make some heartbreaking decisions regarding staff we will come out of this and one day grow strongly again.
Finally, it is worth noting that not only are we a family business, our name is above the door. We know our family’s reputation is at stake in every action we take. We take your trust very seriously and look forward to the day soon when we can again help you explore the world.