When the first online travel booking platform started popping up in the mid-1990s, what at the time was seen as a niche way to book plane tickets ended up revolutionizing the industry to such a point that only travel agencies serving very niche audiences now manage to survive in the modern market.
Agencies that shut down in bankruptcy over the last year include British firms Great Little Escapes and Jetline, Swedish travel company MixxTravel and French cruise operator Expedis Exploration as well as Florida-based North America Destinations.
While travel agencies are significantly more at risk, some online booking platforms have also fallen upon tough times or been phased out due to changing market needs. Launched in 2000 and acquired by Expedia in 2014 as part of a deal for parent company Wotif worth more than $658 million USD, Australian travel deals site Lastminute.com.au has become the latest in the industry to announce that it is shutting down.
Lastminute.com.au to shut down after 25 years in travel industry
As first reported by local news, what was once the country’s most well-known site for booking discount plane tickets and vacation packages will stop accepting new bookings in June before winding down all operations by November 2026.
This will allow the travel platform to shut down gradually and without canceling the trips of those who already paid for them. While one will still be able to modify existing trips, any travel booked before May 15 will need to be completed over the next nine months. Those who book travel between May 15 and June 1, will need to complete travel before November 2026.
Related: Tour company goes into liquidation and cancels all trips
“This change affects all travel options, including hotels, flights, car hire, packages, and activities,” the company said in its statement. “[…] Beginning 2nd June 2026 all new booking activity will be directed to Expedia, part of our family of brands along with Lastminute.com.au.”
As the last travelers with booked trips complete them, the Lastminute brand will be incorporated into the wider Expedia platform.
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“Once all trips have been completed and serviced, we will shut down access to your account”
“Once all trips have been completed and serviced, we will shut down access to your Lastminute.com.au account (if you have one) and you will no longer be able to access your booking history or the Lastminute.com.au website and app,” Lastminute further explains its closure.
These travel companies recently went bankrupt:
- Great Little Escapes: The British travel company filed for bankruptcy after running up losses of £77,000 ($103,000 USD).
- Unitravel Kft: The Budapest-based tour operator blamed “new, foreign companies enter[ing] Hungary with huge financial resources” for a financial breakdown that led to it having to suddenly cancel trips that in some cases were already halfway through.
- MixxTravel: The Malmö-based travel company was forced to cancel trips and wind down operations after being declared bankrupt by a judge in August 2025.
- Tango Travel: The Icelandic tour operator went bust in November 2025 after major partner Play Airlines filed for bankruptcy and stopped operations a month earlier.
- New Era Travel: Ceased operations in November 2025. The tour operator based out of the United Kingdom had been taking British travelers to Spain, Australia, and Las Vegas among multiple other destinations.
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At the time Lastminute.com.au was founded at the start of the 2000s, the main United Kingdom platform was rapidly rising in popularity with a customer base that was increasingly turning to the internet to book travel for the first time.
The shutdown does not affect the main British platform which has been under the ownership of Swiss travel booking giant Bravofly Rumbo Group since 2015.
Related: Another travel company files for bankruptcy, cancels all trips
