Submitted on January 31, 2019@5:13:PM

TRAVEL INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF ONTARIO

Ontario’s travel industry is regulated. The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) is Ontario’s Travel Regulator and is responsible for administering the provincial legislation governing the travel industry in Ontario found under the Travel Industry Act, 2002 (the Act). TICO’s mandate is to ensure that anyone involved with selling travel in Ontario is doing so in accordance with the Act.
The Act defines travel agent as “a person who sells, to consumers, travel services provided by another person,” and a travel service is “transportation or sleeping accommodation for the use of a traveller, tourist or sightseer or other services combined with that transportation or sleeping accommodation.”
TICO has seen an increase in individuals and/or businesses whose primary purpose is not selling travel services (i.e. yoga studios, yoga instructors) engaging in the sale of travel services (yoga, wellness retreats) to consumers. These individuals or businesses sometimes engage in activities that may fall under the Act and require TICO registration. By organizing and offering the sale of overnight yoga retreats (transportation and/or accommodation) and collecting customer monies for these services without TICO registration or without proper affiliation with a registered travel agency, Ontario based yoga instructors may be considered to be selling a travel service and acting as a travel agent without TICO registration which is a contravention of the Act.
TICO has created guidelines designed to assist those who may be engaging in sale of travel services to better understand when registration under the Act is required. The guidelines can be reviewed at the following link, https://www.tico.ca/travel-professionals/resources-guidelines/special-interest-travel.html
TICO would like to inform Ontario members of the Canadian Yoga Alliance that overnight retreats can be organized as long as they comply with the guidelines provided. If you require further clarification on these guidelines or have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our office. You can also obtain more information on TICO and its registration process by visiting our website, www.tico.ca.




TRAVEL INDUSTRY COUNCIL OF ONTARIO

PLEASE CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION

Anabel Andre, Compliance Officer
Tel: (905) 624-6241 or Toll Free: 1-888-451-8426 ext. 241
Fax: (905) 624-8631 Email: aandre@tico.ca

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