Nearly 10 thousand travel agencies across Bangladesh faces risk of shut down under controversial draft ordinance that industry leaders have condemned as a devastating blow to the country's tourism sector.

S. N. Monjur Murshed Mahbub, former President of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), warned at a press conference on Saturday that the proposed ‘Travel Agency Registration and Control Ordinance–2025’ threatens to destroy thousands of businesses. The event, held at a capital’s hotel, jontly organised by members of ATAB, Hajj Agency Association Of Bangladesh (HAAB) and Bangladesh Association Of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA).

According to Murshed, approximately 6 thousand travel agencies, 1,400 Hajj agencies, and 2,700 recruiting agencies could lose their businesses if the ordinance is enacted. "Hundreds of thousands of professionals will become unemployed and their families left in hardship," he said.

Former ATAB president accused the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism of attempting to shift blame for recent online travel agency (OTA) fraud scandals onto legitimate businesses.

"These fraudulent businesses found the opportunity to siphon money and escape overseas without any obstruction," Murshed said, noting that OTAs embezzled hundreds of crores from customers whilst their owners fled abroad.

Draft law proposes stringent requirements including 10-lakh taka security deposit for offline agencies and one crore for online operators. It also prohibits ticket transactions between agents and mandates government-designated financial channels for all dealings.

Industry representatives are demanding dialogue with the government to withdraw the amended ordinance, warning that the new regulations favour only a handful of large agencies whilst destroying the country's tourism competitiveness.