The Travel Industry Act (TIA) Review – Working through the phases

As the TIA Review process enters Phase 3, ACTA wishes to provide you with a summary of what has taken place to date and our next steps moving forward. 

Phase 1: The Ontario government opened the Travel Industry Act for a full review and ACTA was closely involved in this process on behalf of our members. ACTA conducted an online survey where we asked members what they believed were the current challenges with respect to the TIA, what they thought was missing from the TIA, and what they believed was important for consumer protection. This feedback was shared in a letter to the Ontario government on November 4, 2016 prior to the close of Phase 1 in December 2016.

Phase 2: ACTA ramped up our member outreach during Phase 2. Our involvement included:

  • The creation of a TIA Review Committee of seven individuals (ACTA members and ACTA Senior Management),
  • Conducted a member survey
  • Facilitated a meeting with the Canadian Corporate Travel Association (CCTA),
  • Facilitated a meeting with the ACTA Ontario Council,
  • Held three meetings with the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO),
  • Facilitated an ACTA member consultation meeting,
  • Attended TICO consultations in St. Catharines, London, Mississauga and Cambridge,
  • Attended Ontario Government consultations in Toronto, London, Ottawa and Markham,
  • Met with ACTA members both corporate and leisure-based retail agencies from small and medium operations to large corporations.

 ACTA provided members with many opportunities to provide feedback. Our communication included three dedicated articles in our bi-weekly ACTAVision newsletter, inclusion in our Advocacy reports, it was posted on the home page of the ACTA website during January to April, the survey with reminders were sent on five separate occasions, and invitations to the ACTA facilitated consultation meeting was sent on two separate occasions. ACTA is confident in the thoughtful approach, collection and assessment of member feedback that we shared in our submission sent to the Ontario government by the deadline of April 14, 2017.

Key Findings of our member outreach and cited in our Phase 2 submission:

  • Overall, there was strong agreement that the ACT needs to be updated and modernized.
  • There was also strong agreement that there be reductions in the financial and administrative burdens on the travel industry.
  • Most members believe in having some standards to participate in the travel industry.
  • ACTA pointed out that the TIA needs to take into consideration the amount of travel that is purchased on credit cards in 2017 in Canada compared to when the ACT was first written – i.e. there is less “cash” is flowing through agencies.
  • One of the key questions asked by the government was “Is there a need for a compensation fund in 2017?” The feedback from members was mixed.  Some leisure agencies see the benefit of the compensation fund, however, many of our corporate agency members questioned the need from a consumer protection point of view given that, in their case, the vast majority of corporate travel is booked via credit cards, using BSP airlines, and travel often takes place within 10 days of travel.
  • If the compensation remains as part of the updated ACT, ACTA members strongly felt that a consumer pay model needs to be considered.  In this case, the challenges of funding a compensation fund would be spread over many contributors instead of it being a significant financial burden to a small group of contributors.

Phase 3 – ACTA will continue to work with our members and advocate on your behalf over the next few months as we work through the final phase of the review process. The ACTA TIA Review Committee is already scheduled to regroup and map out our next steps. We understand that the ON government is hoping to release a Phase 2 Report with a summary of the findings of the consultations and proposed changes to the Travel Industry Act, 2002 in late-spring. When this happens, ACTA will be ready with how you can also get involved in this final and most important phase of the TIA Review.

If you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please feel free to contact Heather Craig-Peddie, Vice President, Advocacy and Member Relations at hcraig-peddie@acta.ca or dial 905-282-9294 x122 / toll free 888-257-2282 x 122.