State announces black and white lists of travel agencies – Three categories of licensing to be implemented

The new regulations will implement stricter measures when it comes to the founding of travel agencies and the obligation of their licensing, Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajic says and announces that black and white lists of travel agencies will be implemented.

This means that the website of the ministry will provide passengers with the information on what kind of license an agency has, whether there have been complaints by tourists and whether there have been reports of misconduct.

Ljajic clarified on TV Prva that three categories of licensing will be implemented in order to protect conscientious small agencies and passengers above all.

– We will no longer allow money to be paid to sub-agents. Instead, payments will need to be made directly to the organizers of the trip. There was a case in Subotica where a man collected EUR 50,000 and disappeared – Ljajic said.

He clarifies that A, B and C licenses will be implemented. Agencies with the A license will have to pay EUR 500,000 for an insurance policy and a deposit of 50,000, those with the B license will pay EUR 400,000 for insurance and EUR 25,000 for the deposit, whereas the insurance policy for the C license is EUR 300,000 and the deposit is EUR 15,000.

– This is an attempt at reaching a compromise. Large agencies have proposed larger deposits and even the implementation of banking guarantees. However, that would leave us with only 10 agencies and travel arrangements would be more expensive. We need to take both small agencies and the biggest ones into consideration, while trying to protect travelers as well – Ljajic emphasized.

He added that other countries had problems with travel agencies as well and that a new regulation had come into effect on July 1 in the EU, aiming to protect consumers, travelers and tourists.

– We've had a law in line with the EU standards so far. What happens here also happens in Switzerland, Norway, or Germany, but the insurance is better there, it is more efficient and it reacts more quickly – he emphasized.

Ljajic believes that it is not normal for Serbia to have 560 agencies and as many sub-agents as it has.

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

Rasim Ljajic

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