Online Desk

The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism on Sunday issued an urgent warning against unregistered and expired travel agencies following allegations of human trafficking, urging travellers to verify agency licences before making any financial transactions, reports BSS.

The warning came in a press release after the ministry took note of a report published in the media titled “Human Trafficking to Russia: UK Sanctions Bangladeshi Travel Agency.”

According to the ministry, registration of travel agencies is mandatory under the Bangladesh Travel Agency Registration and Control Act, 2013, and all registration and renewal procedures must be completed online through the Travel Agency Management System.

The ministry said operating a travel agency without valid registration or after licence expiry is illegal.

It also noted that many agencies have recently been operating without proper registration or with expired licences, leading to allegations of fraud and customer harassment.

To prevent such incidents, the ministry urged passengers and travellers not to make any payments related to air travel, tour packages or other travel services through unregistered or expired agencies.