ACTA Member Advisory: The Ontario Travel Industry Act

This member advisory is to update ACTA members on the new regulatory amendments to the Travel Industry Act that will come into effect on July 1, 2016 in the province of Ontario with the exception of an all-in pricing amendment, which will come into effect on January 1, 2017. These upcoming changes were recently approved by the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services. The following information shares details about the new updates to the Act.

Amendment to Day Tours – Effective July 1, 2016

The Ontario government will exempt businesses that offer one day tours. One day tours are defined as tours that do not include overnight accommodations, commence at a departure point and conclude at that same point within a 24 hour period. ACTA accepts the reason for this exemption however opposed this change in our submission to the government in December 2015. In that submission, ACTA pointed out that many registrants that offer one day tours as part of their roster of services will be in a competitive disadvantage and create an uneven playing field. Furthermore, this change will create confusion for the consumer as to why these businesses who only book day tours operate under different rules than those who book tours over 24 hours leaving the consumer of one day tours unprotected and exposed to potential fraud.

Modify Specific Registration and Operating Requirements to Allow for Flexibility for Lower Risk – Effective July 1, 2016

This amendment proposes greater flexibility so that the registrar can accept alternative forms of financial guarantees from a registrant. ACTA supported the idea of accepting a letter of credit, letter of guarantee or bond from a government entity for these requirements. The Ontario government has outlined the new regulations under Section 24 - please refer to the following link for further details on this amendment: Ontario’s e-laws https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/r16170

Align the Filing Deadline for Both Types of Claim Submissions – Effective July 1, 2016

The amendment to extend the deadline for trip completion claims from three months to six months has been approved by the Ontario government. The result is that both the Trip Completion claim and Standard claim will have the same deadline and therefore eliminate confusion. ACTA supported the extension of the deadline for trip completion claims from three months to six months.

Require that all Registrants Display the Total Price of the Travel Services, Including all Fees and Other Charges – Effective January 1, 2017

Effective January 1, 2017 all registrants will show in their marketing the total amount to be paid for travel services including all fees, levies, service charges, surcharges taxes and any other charges. ACTA supports this amendment and is pleased that the pricing requirements will now be harmonized in Ontario.

TICO also noted during their AGM which was held on June 21, 2016 that the Ontario government will be undertaking a full review of the Travel Industry Act and will be looking for stakeholder feedback. The Travel Industry Act, which was written in the 1970’S, has not been updated since 2002. As a constantly evolving industry the Act in its current form does not reflect how travel is transacted during these more modern times. ACTA looks forward to participating as a stakeholder and will work with our members, TICO and the Ontario government to make positive contributions to the review so that the Act better reflects today’s travel industry. This is good news for the province and more information will provided on this in the coming months.