Highlights:

·         5,000 travel agencies could shut down

·         Tk 50 lakh fines + 3 years of prison

·         Tk 1 crore deposit threatens travel agencies

Nearly 5,000 travel agencies across Bangladesh face closure under proposed Travel Agency Registration and Control Ordinance 2025, industry leaders warned. 

Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB) Member Welfare Unity Alliance called the draft law ‘unrealistic, economically destructive and potentially catastrophic’.

During a human chain outside National Press Club on Sunday, alliance convener Mohammad Jalal Uddin Tipu said that the ordinance would force widespread shutdowns and destabilise aviation, tourism, labour migration and Hajj-Umrah operations.

"This ordinance will shut down our industry," Tipu said. Section 5 bans inter-agency ticket purchases, making survival impossible for ordinary travel agencies. Most agencies lack direct ticket-issuing authorisation from airlines and rely on inter-agency ticketing to operate.

Security deposit requirements ranging from Tk 10 lakh to Tk 1 crore place impossible burden on small and medium firms, Tipu added. Section 9 restricts business transfers to family members and bars recruiting agents from operating multiple services at same address.

"Many amendment proposals in the new ordinance do not align with reality," he said. Multiple business licences at same address remain legal under existing national law. Many recruiting and Hajj agencies have long provided travel services from shared offices.

Alliance member secretary Mohammad Juman Chowdhury warned the ordinance ignores ground-level realities. "If this ordinance is implemented, not only institutions but also future of families will become uncertain," he said. Smaller agencies depend on larger ones for ticket supply due to restricted bank guarantees.

Penalties escalate sharply to three years imprisonment and Tk 50 lakh fines. Speakers called them excessive given existing laws already provide penal mechanisms. Authorities can suspend licences without hearings under Section 9.

Industry leaders cautioned against introducing sweeping changes under interim government without parliamentary scrutiny. They argued reforms affecting thousands of businesses need transparency and legitimacy through elected government review.

Delegation led by Tipu submitted memorandums to Chief Adviser's Office, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and Ministry of Law Affairs after the demonstration. Memorandum warned that ordinance could cause widespread closures, leaving owners, officials and employees without work and disrupting the entire sector.

Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry drafted the ordinance to replace 2013 law and its 2021 amendments.