With multiple small airlines and travel agencies shutting down operations since the start of the year, 2026 has ended up being a challenging year to be in the travel industry.
Rising travel costs due to the spike in jet fuel prices over the war in Iran as well as regular challenges around finding customers and operating costs ended up dealing the final blow to many small and mid-size businesses in different parts of the world.
The latest name to join their rank with an administration filing, which is the United Kingdom equivalent closest to a business filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S., is luxury private travel events company Private Drama Events.
Luxury events agency Private Drama Events files for administration in the UK
Launched in 2007 in London, the company that positioned itself as a “storytelling agency” organizes various theatrical events, celebrity parties and immersive experiences such as a murder mystery night on the historic luxury Belmond Pullman trains.
Singer and songwriter Katy Perry turned to Private Drama Events to organize her 40th birthday celebration in Venice in 2024. The gala was inspired by the theme of the Orient Express train and included guests such as Jeff Bezos and wife Lauren Sánchez, an appearance that caused outcry at the time given Bezos’ earlier move to block the Washington Post from endorsing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential run in the U.S.
Related: September and October are no longer the cheap time to book that trip
As first reported by local outlet The Gazette, Private Drama Events entered administration on August 6 while a Companies House listing shows that accounts that the firm owed for 2025 are now overdue.
The events agency had last recorded 10 full-time employees and has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram. The company has not yet acknowledged or commented on the administration filing.
Belmond
How glitzy events firm Private Drama Events still ended up in administration
The biggest difference with a corporate Chapter 11 filing in the U.S. is that an administration filing in the UK automatically results in the appointment of an independent overseer, in this case Nicholas Simmonds and Chris Newell of Quantuma Advisory Limited.
The outcome, meanwhile, can range between a restructuring and full liquidation; no further information on the process in this case is currently publicly available.
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Travel agencies that filed for bankruptcy in 2026:
- AVG Travels: The Melbourne-based travel agency selling cheap vacation packages to travelers in Australia and New Zealand sent more than 200 travelers an email saying that the trips were canceled before entering bankruptcy in May 2026.
- 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 Franceat 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 with invalid plane tickets and hotel bookings.
Related: Another travel company will liquidate, all trips canceled
