Former TICO registrants can restore registration without additional fees, says Smart

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) is offering some flexibility to registrants who decided to voluntarily terminate or allow their registration to expire by letting them reactivate their registration without any additional fees. 

“TICO recognizes the difficulty that many registrants have faced resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” TICO President and CEO Richard Smart wrote in a release issued on Tuesday (Dec. 7). “Prolonged industry downturn has led to great financial strain and uncertainty.”

TICO’s “Registrant Reinstatement Policy” was updated on Dec. 6, 2021.

This policy will be available up to March 31, 2023, for former TICO registrants that cancelled their registration or allowed it to expire from April 1, 2020, onwards.

“Recognizing the delivery of travel services to consumers has evolved with the advancement of new business models, and the impact of the global pandemic on the travel industry, TICO wishes to ensure that the marketplace remains vibrant and that purchasing options for consumers remains robust,” Smart wrote.

There are conditions 

There are conditions to the offer, however. According to Smart, TICO will approve a reinstatement of any former registrant as long as:

• At the date of the voluntary termination/expiration of a registrant, there must not have been any unresolved compliance issues, claims against the Compensation Fund and/or other outstanding financial compliance requirements;
• At the date of the voluntary termination/expiration of a registrant, all fees owing to TICO, up to the date of the termination/expiration, under the Act or Regulation must have been paid in full;
• The person applying for reinstatement must not have been charged with an offence and a CPIC check will be required;
• If the former registrant has been employed, or contracted, by a TICO registrant, he/she must not have been terminated for reasons associated with the lack of honesty and integrity detrimental to the travelling public, in the view of the registrar, and
• All other requirements for registration and renewal are met.

If all the above conditions have been met, the former registrant may be reinstated and the new application fee will be waived, Smart said.

A security deposit will not be required if the former registrant had filed two consecutive annual financial statements or verification statements with TICO, and the Registrar has no concerns with compliance to the legislation.

All reasonable efforts will be undertaken to re-issue the same registration number as previously used, Smart said.  

“TICO believes this policy will be of benefit to certain individuals and/or former registrants who have chosen to voluntarily terminate their TICO registration or allow their registration to expire or leave the industry altogether during the pandemic but have the desire to re-engage and sell travel services as an Ontario registrant,” wrote Smart.

If you have questions, you may contact TICO’s Registration Department at 1-888-451-TICO (8426) or email tico@tico.ca.

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