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Since June 30, consumers have some new tools to complete their travel agency transactions with a greater sense of confidence. With the coming into force of changes in the provincial law on travel agents, travellers will be better informed and will receive better protection.
In this sector of business, which is an area that is already well-defined and supervised by the Consumer Protection Office, additional elements of protection are coming in. They concern travel counselors, changes made unilaterally in the cost of a contract, advertising, and the compensation fund for clients of travel agencies.
Travel counselors
By the end of this year, travel counselors will be obliged to have a certificate issued by the Office. As of July 1, 2012, these counsellors will also have to pass an exam, concerning the law and regulations that govern the sale of tourism services, in order to obtain and to renew their certificate. In this way, the activities of travel counselors will be overseen more effectively.
The cost of a trip
What could be more unpleasant, you may well agree, than to find out that the price of your cruise has been raised before you’ve even left on the trip. You should know that this practice will henceforth be permitted only on certain conditions, which will be set in the regulations, and then only if there has been an increase in the cost of fuel or the exchange rate. But no price change will be allowed in the 30 days prior to your departure.
Internet transactions
Travelers who do their transactions on the Internet sites of travel agencies sometimes face prices that fluctuate from session to session. Henceforth, the agencies will be obliged to post this warning: “Prices advertised on our site are valid if you purchase services during the same session. If you log out of the site, the prices may have changed by your next session.”
If this notice does not appear, the agencies will still be obliged to state the period during which services can be purchased at the cost quoted.
The compensation fund
The compensation fund for clients of travel agencies was designed for consumers who’ve been deprived of tourism services purchased from a travel agent holding a permit issued by the Office. The maximum refundable amount of $3,000 per client per trip has been abolished. A client with a claim can now demand payment for all costs of services not delivered.
In another development, the maximum compensation per event, previously $3 million, is set at 20 per cent of the accumulated surplus of the fund as of March 31 preceding the event. In addition, a progressive reduction in the rate of contributions paid by clients is provided for as soon as the capital in the fund, amounting now to $50 million, grows. Above $75 million, the contribution will be $2 per $1,000 of tourism services purchased, and if the surplus rises above $100 million, it will be $1 per $1,000 of services.
