The tourism sector of Bangladesh is growing but is yet to reach its full potential. To improve the scenario, the Parliament of Bangladesh has enacted the Bangladesh Tour Operators and Tour Guides (Registration and Operation) Act, 2021. This Act aims to regulate the functions of tour operators and tour guides of Bangladesh. It aspires to ensure quality in the services of the tour operators to make the tourism sector of the country run smoothly and attract foreign direct investment in the sector as well.

The definition of 'tour operator' in the law is very wide and it is difficult to understand whether the hotels and resorts will now require a license of 'tour operator'. The definition includes those individuals who offer accommodation and food services to the tourists. Currently these hotels and restaurants take licenses under the Bangladesh Hotel and Restaurant Act 2014. Requiring additional regulatory approval will only scare the foreign and domestic investors from the sector away.

The Registering Authority under section 3 plays a very important role. But it is strange that the legislature did not table any guidelines on who can be chairman or member of such registering authority. Usually in other regulatory body related laws, we can find clear instructions prescribing the requisite qualifications of chairman and/or members of such regulatory bodies. A substantive provision like the qualification for chairmanship/membership in a regulatory body should have been prescribed in the mother legislation.

The Act has imposed a ban on unlicensed tour operators and tour guides under section 4. It has also provided instructions for the tour operators to apply for a license by supplying the necessary documents to the registration authority. The existing unregistered tour operators and tour guides are required to be registered within 6 months of the enactment of the Act. So, it is important for the aspiring tour operators and tour guides to know how to get a registration certificate in the correct way to conduct their functions legally.

The Act has also provided restrictions under section 6 on who are qualified to become tour operators. The limitations include non-citizens, minors, people of unsound mind, insolvent and people who have been penalised under the criminal law of Bangladesh without the passage of 2 years since the penalisation. However, the Act has kept provisions for non-citizens to become tour operators only after obtaining permission from the government as mentioned in section 4(2). But the Act has not provided enough information or instructions to make the process easier for the non-citizens.

To obtain a registration certificate, an application is to be made by completing the form and paying the prescribed fees under section 5 of the Act. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism is yet to adopt the Rules under the Act prescribing the form and the fee. Alongside, some necessary documents have to be submitted after attestation. These include the trade license of the company, Tax Identification Number, in case of companies, attested copies of Articles of Association, Memorandum of Association and a Certificate of Incorporation. Moreover, it is also required to submit an affidavit with the obligation not to commit fraud or extort additional money from any tourist. Thus, the Act takes necessary precautions to ensure such tour operator licenses are not given to wrong persons.

If the application is accepted after proper scrutiny, the applicant will obtain a registration certificate within 15 working days. If not, the applicant will receive a written explanation for the rejection and will get a chance to reapply to the registration authority for reevaluation following the instructions given in section 7. The registration certificate is not for an indefinite period. The certificate is valid for 3 years since its issuance. For the renewal of the certificate, an application has to be made 3 months prior to the termination date. However, the Act has not provided any guidelines for monitoring and evaluating the tour operators by the tourists and the relevant stakeholders. Without relying on the review of the stakeholders, the service of the tour operators and tour guides cannot be raised to a global standard.

The Act has a very straightforward approach towards regulating the tour operators and providing registration certificates to such operators will help control the unlawful activities of tour operators and secure the tourism sector of the country. The Act also provides for pausing or cancelling the certificate as prescribed under section 10 of this Act. The grounds are supplying false information, violating any conditions of this Act, acting outside the prescribed conducts of tour operators under this Act, failure to renew the registration certificate within prescribed time and if the person with the registration certificate gets penalised under criminal law. It ensures that no tourists will be harassed, and every tourist will be treated in accordance with the services which have been claimed to be offered by the tour operator.

Since the Act is still new, there are a lot of unanswered questions regarding it. Even though the Act mentioned the formation of a registration authority under section 3, there is lack of information regarding the functions or the number of members of this authority.  There is also no online portal which provides information on the registration of tour operators and no option for making an application online. Since the Act has imposed a time limitation on registration of all the unregistered tour operators within 6 months, it is a concerning issue on how fast the Government will be able to act and make the process of obtaining the registration certificate easy and accessible for the tour operators.

Even so, guidelines and rules regarding the functioning of tour operators and tour guides were imperative for the tourism sector of Bangladesh. This Act is a step towards the positive direction and has immense potential to ensure the overall safety and security of tourists as well as protection for the registered tour operators.

The writers are lecturer in law, bangladesh university of professionals and research intern, a.s & associates, respectively.