APST Reports Record Equity, but Prudence Remains for 2026 [ABO]

With more than sixty years on the clock, APST is now leaning into financial security.

Indeed, nearly seven years after the collapse of Thomas Cook—and its 42 million euros in claims—the association has managed to replenish its equity.

By the end of 2025, they reached €39.7 million, up from €31.3 million a year earlier, according to the latest 2025 moral and financial report, which will be presented to members on June 24 at the 61st Ordinary General Assembly at the Salons Hoche in Paris.

In 2026, there is little doubt that the symbolic 40 million mark will be reached, as confirmed by the APST president, Mumtaz Teker, during a speech at the annual congress of the Travel Companies (EDV), referring to “an unprecedented fund level of 40 million euros, and around 70 million euros in treasury“.

“The results achieved exceed budget forecasts“, he enthuses in this regard, in the introduction to the moral report, attributing this performance notably to “the growth in activity volumes” realized by members and to “a stringent management of our charges“.

He also notes that the association “has reinforced its leadership position in the financial guarantee market for travel and stay operators, with about 52% of market share in the number of guaranteed operators, accounting for nearly 70% of the sector’s business volume.”

As of December 31, 2025, the guarantee fund thus counted 3,413 members, versus 3,454 in 2024 (-1.2%), while the number of guaranteed establishments rose sharply to 6,590 from 5,648 in 2024 (+14.2%).

This trend reflects both sector consolidation and a broader footprint of its players.

In parallel, the APST president highlights in the report the “steady dynamism in business creations” in tourism, with 396 membership requests examined in 2025 and 306 accepted.

As for resignations and removals, they were also up in 2025, at 162 and 83 respectively, “reflecting a portfolio adjustment dynamic within a stricter management framework“, comments the association.

The guarantor’s teams also had a busy time with guarantee renewals – 576 decisions versus 161 in 2024 and 18 in 2023. An increase due to the approaching expiry of a large volume of memberships granted in previous years.

Note that 19 companies left the APST to go to another guarantor last year; a figure that balances with the 17 companies already registered who requested membership with the guarantor.

Thus, between the rise in its own funds and tighter risk management by its members, the association emerges stronger from the last decade and the trials it has faced.

With nearly €2 billion in theoretical gross commitments as of 31 December 2025 (1,988,840,300 € exactly), it holds a total of counter-guarantees (of all kinds) of €1,184,417,183, including €93,095,324 in bank counter-guarantees.

“Included in this amount are the letters of comfort given by companies guaranteeing a theoretical commitments amount of €402,484,863“, adds the report.

This tighter management does not prevent the fund from being exposed to the default of some of its members. And this despite a general 12.8% drop in sector failures compared with 2024.

Thus, of the 123 failures that occurred in 2025, 27 cases involve APST.

The most significant, according to the report, is Jacqueson Tourisme, for which the fund handled in service nearly 500 files for a little over 2,000 clients.

Globally, the service-based handling system applied by APST has, in their words, “enabled savings of more than 1 million euros compared to refunds that would have had to be issued“, the association notes with pride.

As for cash reimbursements for client files, the fund carried out 625 reimbursements during the 2025 financial year, of which 539 concerned Jacqueson Tourisme (516,752.41 €) and 10 Yam’s (84,647.62 €), for a total amount of 761,643.83 €.

Nevertheless, “the defaults of APST member companies are down 30.7% in 2025 compared to 2024“, notes the treasurer Michèle Laget Herbaut. In total, they account for 22% of sector defaults.

Result for APST: while the amount of contributions collected in 2025 exceeded forecasts by 11.3%, it remained 2.9% below those received in 2024.

“Because contribution scales were not modified, this slight decrease is explained 90% by a lower business volume realized by our members than in 2024, and by an increase in bonuses granted, with 2025 including a new bonus awarded to members with small business volumes“, analyzes the treasurer.

Thus, the guarantee fund generated a net positive result of €8.3 million (and €15 million excluding costs of claims and exceptional charges amounting to €6.7 million). This represents the “third best result achieved since 2019“, emphasizes Michèle Laget Herbaut.

Among other important measures or projects implemented by APST in 2025 are “the modernization of our operations, notably through the dematerialization of exchanges via the member space (declarations of business volume, online memberships)“, notes Mumtaz Teker.

These IT advances also concern the digitization of membership requests – prospects can now complete their file online and track its progress; as well as the signing of warranty deeds via Docusign; or the initiation of a reflection on artificial intelligence.

In the same vein, projects will be deployed this year, such as the dematerialization of invoices by the second quarter.

Furthermore, to facilitate the settlement of service providers in tourism within the framework of releasing APST guarantees in services, an interface must be created to automate banking flows.

Finally, a “AI project focused on evaluating and proactively managing members’ risk“, aimed at providing “concrete tools available in 2026” is in the works.