ATAB warns against draft travel agency ordinance

Members of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) have cautioned that issuing ordinances in any sector tends to create negative impacts, urging the government to avoid promulgating new rules during the interim administration.

Instead, they suggested that the "Travel Agency (Registration and Control) Amendment Act" should be passed by the next elected government through the National Parliament to ensure broader legitimacy and acceptance.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism has recently proposed further amendments to the Bangladesh Travel Agency (Registration and Control) Act, 2013, and its 2021 amendment. The changes aim to prevent customer harassment on online platforms and ensure good governance in the aviation sector.

According to a draft policy notification, a committee has already held three meetings, and after reviewing stakeholder feedback and studying laws in neighbouring countries, a draft "Bangladesh Travel Agency (Registration and Control) Ordinance 2025" has been prepared. The draft has been published on the ministry's website, with public feedback invited within seven days.

In response, ATAB issued a press release on Monday highlighting several "negative provisions" in the draft ordinance.

One major concern is the proposed clause under Section 5(1)(e), which states that "no travel agency shall buy or sell tickets from or to another travel agency." ATAB warned that this would severely disrupt the sector, potentially forcing nearly 4,000 non-IATA and small-scale IATA agencies to shut down, affecting government revenue and leaving hundreds of thousands of service-sector employees jobless.

The proposed Section 5(1)(h), requiring offline travel agencies to deposit Tk 10 lakh as a security with a scheduled bank, is also problematic, as ATAB estimates that nearly two-thirds of agencies could not meet this financial demand, risking mass closures.