Time To Change Ontario Travel Act

A Toronto-based travel retailer is urging travel agents across the province to get involved in the updating of Ontario’s travel industry act that has been proposed by the provincial government.

But time is short as the deadline to complete the Travel Industry Act Review Survey is Dec. 3, 2016.

For a good number of years, Darren Swidler of TruExperiences Tours Inc. has been calling on both TICO and the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services to update the Travel Industry Act in order to protect consumers at less cost to registrants.

Swidler has also been an outspoken advocate for TICO to reduce their operational expenses and to improve their transparency and accountability.

He believes that the Ministry’s decision to finally updated the provincial travel act – last updated in 2002 – is a positive step.

But he believes that it’s critical that every registrant make it clear to the Ministry that “significant changes” to the Act are needed in order to reduce compliance costs for business owners.

To help registrants who want to get involved, Swidler has set up a web site – http://www.reformtico.com/ – that provides them with a range of information on a variety of key issues and also indicates some options for actions.

Asked why he’s doing all this, Swidler said: “I’ve heard from so many registrants that they are overwhelmed by the compliance costs of the Travel Industry Act and the fees needed to maintain TICO’s operations.”

And he continued: “We need to send a clear, unequivocal message to the government that it’s time to reduce the regulatory burden on business owners in order to ensure that there’s a vibrant travel industry in Ontario.”