Singapore has passed a new amendment to the Travel Agents Bill imposing tougher penalties for unlicensed travel agent activities and making it harder for travel agencies that go bust to reopen under a different name.
The Singapore Tourism Board will now be able to consider whether company directors are ‘suitable licensees’ when establishing a new travel business.
Anyone who has previously fallen foul of travel agent legislation may be denied a new license, said senior minister for trade and industry Sim Ann.
The various changes to the bill will be phased in from next year.
The STB has the power to impose $25,000 for unlicensed travel agency activities, up from the current $10,000.
Agents facing a possible suspension or revocation of their license must now disclose this to customers.
At the same time, agents offering local tours that don’t include transport or accommodation, such as walking tours, do not require a license but will still have to be registered as official tour guides.
"Such entities pose much lower risk to consumers as prepayment is typically low or not required. We hope that this exemption will encourage more entities to offer consumers innovative and experiential tours," Sim said.
Steven Ler, acting president of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore, welcomed the new rules, adding that encourage agents to be more innovative.
"The amended legislation will also hold travel agents to higher standards and weed out fly-by-night operators," he said.
