ATAB Member Welfare Unity Alliance on Sunday demanded immediate withdrawal of the proposed Travel Agency Registration and Control Ordinance 2025, describing the draft “unrealistic, economically destructive, and potentially catastrophic”.
The travel industry leaders also warned that the sector could face an immediate collapse if their demand is not addressed.
The warning came at a human chain formed outside the Jatiya Press Club.
During the demonstration, the leaders claimed that the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry’s proposed ordinance, intended to replace the 2013 law and its 2021 amendments, would effectively shut down nearly 5,000 travel agencies nationwide.
Such a collapse, they said, would destabilise core services linked to aviation, tourism, labour migration and Hajj-Umrah operations.
“This ordinance will shut down our industry,” said the alliance Convener Mohammad Jalal Uddin Tipu, arguing that several clauses in the draft reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of how the sector functions.
“Many of the amendment proposals in the new ordinance do not align with reality,” he said.
“Especially under Section 5, banning the purchase and sale of tickets from other agencies will make it impossible for ordinary travel agencies to survive,” he added.
Tipu noted that most agencies do not have direct ticket-issuing authorisation from airlines, making inter-agency ticketing a lifeline rather than a preference.
He added that the proposed security deposit requirement, ranging from Tk 10 lakh to Tk 1 crore, places an “impossible burden” on small and medium firms.
Speakers also criticised Section 9, which restricts business transfers to family members, bars recruiting agents from operating multiple services at the same address and allows authorities to suspend licences without a hearing.
“Under existing national law, multiple business licences at the same address are legal,” Tipu said. “Many recruiting and Hajj agencies have long provided travel services from shared offices. This draft makes such practices illegal overnight.”
Alliance Member Secretary Mohammad Juman Chowdhury said the ordinance fails to recognise operational realities on the ground.
“If this ordinance is implemented, not only the institutions but also the future of families will become uncertain,” he said, explaining that smaller agencies often depend on larger ones for ticket supply due to restricted bank guarantees.
Chowdhury also criticised the draft’s sharp escalation in penalties, up to three years in prison and fines of Tk 50 lakh, calling them “excessive and unnecessary” given that existing national laws already provide mechanisms for penal action.
The speakers cautioned that introducing such sweeping changes during the tenure of an interim government risks major instability.
They argued that any reform affecting thousands of businesses should undergo parliamentary scrutiny under an elected government to ensure transparency and legitimacy.
After the human chain, a delegation led by Tipu submitted memorandums to the Chief Adviser’s Office, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, and the Ministry of Law Affairs.
The memorandum warned that if enacted, the ordinance could lead to widespread closures, leaving owners, officials and employees without work and causing significant disruption across the sector.
The alliance urged the government to safeguard the stability of the industry and the livelihoods of thousands of workers dependent on the sector.
