Any person who carries on the business of a travel agent in Hong Kong needs to have a Travel Agents Licence to do so.
According to the Travel Agents Ordinance (TAO) (Cap. 218), a travel agent can be categorized as an outbound travel agent or an inbound travel agent. A person is an outbound travel agent if he carries on the business in Hong Kong of obtaining for another person. A person is an inbound travel agent if he carries on the business in Hong Kong of obtaining for a visitor.
Any person in Hong Kong may apply for a Travel Agents Licence. The grant of a licence is subject to only a few pre-conditions:
1. The applicant, and any person in control of the company or responsible for its management (such as a partner, a director, a secretary or an officer), must be, in the opinion of the Registrar, a fit and proper person to carry on or be associated with the business of a travel agent;
2. The premises where the applicant proposes to carry on its business as a travel agent must be suitable for the purpose;
3, The applicant must be a member of an 'approved organization', which, as specified in Schedule 1 of the TAO, is the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC).
Procedures for setting up a travel agent
1. Find a suitable place for business and register a Hong Kong company.
2. Joining one of the travelling association list as following:
a. Hong Kong Association of Travel Agents (HATA);
b. The Federation of Hong Kong Travellers Limited (FHCTA);
c. International Chinese Tourist Association Ltd (ICTA);
d. The Society of IATA Passenger Agents Ltd (SIPA);
e. Hong Kong Taiwan Tourist Operators Association (TTOA);
f. Hong Kong Association of China Travel Organizers Limited (HACTO);
g. Hong Kong Outbound Tour Operators Association (OTOA);
h. Hong Kong Japanese Tour Operators Association (HJTOA);
3. Apply to the association for membership.
4. Apply to the registrar of travel agents for travel agents licenses.
The license application program is relatively complex and takes a long time. As long as you provide the required information, we will help you to deal with the issues.
Contact us
If you have further enquire, please feel free to contact Tannet at anytime, anywhere by simply visiting Tannet’s website english.tannet-group.com, or calling Hong Kong hotline at 852-27826888 or China hotline at 86-755-82143422, or emailing to tannetgroup@gmail.com / tannet-solution@hotmail.com
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