How to Start a Travel Agency Business in Canada

The short answer

Travel is one of the few service businesses in Canada where the licence comes before the first sale in three provinces. In Ontario you register with TICO, in British Columbia you get a Consumer Protection BC licence, and in Quebec you get an Office de la protection du consommateur licence — and in all three, selling before the registration or licence is granted is the violation, not a paperwork delay. The cheaper way in is to sell under a registered host agency, where you need your own seller certification but not your own registration, deposit, and trust accounts. Pick the route first, because it decides your startup cost, your timeline, and who holds the client money.

Step 1: Choose the route before you spend anything

Two routes lead into travel selling, and they suit different starters:

• Your own agency. You hold the registration or licence, you hold the trust account, you keep the full commission, and you carry the full compliance burden: financial statements, trust accounting, advertising rules, and disclosure at booking. The Ontario version of this route costs $3,000 for a head office application plus a $10,000 security deposit before you sell anything.
• Outside sales representative under a host agency. You sell on behalf of a registered agency, under its registration number and trust account, under its supervision, and on its commission split. TICO describes this as the growing home-based model: travel counsellors working as outside sales representatives on behalf of travel agencies. You still need your own Travel Counsellor Certification to sell to the public on the agency's behalf in Ontario, but you avoid your own deposit and your own trust accounts.

If you have three years of travel industry experience and the capital for the deposit and the trust setup, your own registration is realistic. If you are new, the host route is how you earn while you learn the trade and build a client list. Either way, do not promote travel services before the registration that covers you is in place. TICO states this plainly: a website, social media, or advertising must not be active and publicly accessible until registration is approved, and selling or promoting before approval is not compliant.

Step 2: Ontario — TICO registration, in full

Ontario's regulator is the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO), mandated by the Ontario government to administer the Travel Industry Act, 2002. All travel retailers and travel wholesalers selling travel services from a location in Ontario must be registered, and selling without registration may result in charges. A retailer sells directly to consumers; a wholesaler acquires rights to travel services for resale to retailers.

The application requirements are:

1. Fees and deposit. A $3,000 non-refundable application processing fee for a head office, $800 for a branch office, and a $10,000 security deposit for head office applications. Retail and wholesale registrations need separate deposits. The deposit is returned after the filing of two consecutive year-end financial statements covering two 12-month periods, provided the Registrar has no concerns about compliance.
2. A permanent place of business in Ontario. This can be a commercial location, a residential location, or a virtual, shared, or coworking location, plus a business phone number. Residential locations need a letter of approval from the local municipality for zoning compliance. Virtual or shared spaces need a copy of the commercial lease agreement.
3. Key personnel. Shareholders, officers, directors, partners, sole proprietors, and supervisor/managers must be 18 years of age and residents of Canada, with valid government photo identification, proof of residency or eligibility to work, a criminal record and judicial matters check, and disclosure of any bankruptcies or judgments. All individuals selling travel services directly to the public on behalf of the business must have passed the Travel Counsellor Certification exam.
4. A designated manager. The manager must be legally entitled to work in Canada, hold proof of Travel Counsellor and Supervisor/Manager TICO Certification, have a minimum of three years of travel industry experience confirmed through employment verification, and manage and supervise the business during its hours of operation.
5. Two bank accounts. A general account and a Travel Industry Act trust account, both in Ontario, both held in a Schedule I or II bank, trust company, or credit union recognized by the Bank of Canada, and both under the travel seller's legal business name registered with TICO. A trust declaration form is required, and a credit card merchant account must be linked to the trust account.
6. Financial statements. A new business files an opening statement of financial position. The statements must be dated and current within 30 days of application, and must demonstrate positive working capital.

TICO targets 30 days or sooner for a new registration application that is complete, with no issues, concerns, or missing documentation. Budget for longer if anything in the file is incomplete, because the clock runs from a completed application.

Step 3: British Columbia — Consumer Protection BC licensing

In British Columbia, travel agents and wholesalers are licensed under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, and Consumer Protection BC supervises licensing and operation. A person must not act or hold themselves out as a travel agent or travel wholesaler unless licensed or exempt by regulation.

The qualifications in the Travel Industry Regulation are:

• Individual applicants must be at least 19 years of age, ordinarily resident in British Columbia, and have the experience and knowledge of travel services to operate a travel service business.
• Corporation applicants must have a net worth of at least $15,000, with a director or a person in a position of authority ordinarily resident in British Columbia, and an officer or director with the required experience and knowledge.
• Security at licence issue. At the time the licence is issued, the agent must post security for claims against the agent by consumers. The amount and form follow the regulation and the application, so confirm the current requirement with Consumer Protection BC rather than relying on a figure from another province's rules.
• Travel Assurance Fund. Licensed businesses contribute to the Travel Assurance Fund, a possible source of compensation for consumers who did not get the travel services they bought, whether because of a third party or a licensed agent. It is a fund of last resort, and eligibility requires booking with a licensed British Columbia agent or wholesaler.
• Receipts. By law, receipts for travel services must carry specific information: the date, the customer's name and address, the amount paid and any outstanding balance, a description of the services including dates, the itemized cost, the reimbursement conditions, the agency's name, address, phone number, and licence number, and, where applicable, a statement that the payment will be deposited into a trust account. That receipt information is also what validates a Travel Assurance Fund claim, so issue complete receipts from the first booking.

Licence fees change over time, and the fee tables found were dated 2022 to 2024. This guide therefore gives no British Columbia fee figure: check the current Consumer Protection BC fee schedule before you budget.

Step 4: Quebec — Office de la protection du consommateur licence

Quebec runs its own system under the Travel Agents Act. No person may perform the operations of a travel agent, assume the title, or represent themselves as a travel agent unless they hold a licence in force, or a licence is issued to a natural person on their behalf.

The working rules for counsellors are strict and specific:

• One agency only. A travel counsellor must act exclusively on behalf of the travel agency that employs them or with which they signed a contract. Affiliation with one agency is mandatory, and the agency must hold a licence from the Office.
• Annual certificate renewal. The counsellor certificate must be renewed every year, or it is cancelled and a new request is needed. Contact information changes and agency changes must be reported to the Office.
• Trust account deposits. When a customer pays the counsellor, the counsellor must give a receipt and deposit the collected amounts into the travel agency's trust account.
• Home meetings. A counsellor cannot meet customers at home unless a duplicate copy of the agency's licence is issued for an establishment located at the residence.
• Advertising. A counsellor advertises only on behalf of the affiliated agency, and cannot put personal contact information on advertisements, other than a cell phone number.
• Compensation fund. Customers who buy through a licensed agency benefit from the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents, administered by the Office. It can reimburse customers who do not receive services they paid for because a provider failed to render them, the agency closed, a natural disaster or political crisis intervened, or the Government of Canada issued an official travel advisory after purchase.

Licence fees and security amounts were not verified from a current official source, so this guide gives no Quebec fee figure. Check the Office's current requirements before you budget.

Step 5: The rest of Canada

Outside Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec, there is no equivalent travel-seller registration named in this guide. That does not mean no rules apply: general consumer protection law, advertising law, and business registration still apply everywhere, and a seller based in one province who sells into a regulated province can fall under that province's regime. Before you take a booking from a client in a province other than your own, check with that province's consumer protection office and get the answer in writing. Selling across a provincial line on an assumption is how new agencies get caught.

Step 6: Register the business and tax accounts

The general business paperwork sits underneath the travel licence:

1. Choose a structure. Most solo sellers start as a sole proprietorship; agencies with partners or staff usually incorporate. The travel licence sits on top of whichever structure you choose.
2. Register the business name with your province if you trade under a name other than your own.
3. Get a Canada Revenue Agency business number. It is free, and you need it for tax accounts.
4. Register for GST/HST once your taxable supplies pass $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive calendar quarters. Travel services are taxable supplies, so a busy first year crosses that line.
5. Keep client money separate, always. Trust accounting is not bookkeeping preference in this industry; it is the core consumer protection rule in all three regulated provinces. Commissions and charges move from the trust account to the general account only after the client's travel is complete or all suppliers are paid.

Step 7: Sell one specialty first

New agencies fail by selling everything to everyone. Pick one lane and learn its suppliers, its margins, and its failure modes:

• One destination or region you know well enough to advise on, not just book.
• One trip type, such as cruises, group tours, adventure travel, or business travel.
• One client group, such as families, seniors, or corporate accounts in your city.

For each booking, the discipline is the same: full disclosure of relevant information before purchase, notice of any changes after purchase, truthful advertising, and a complete receipt. Those are the obligations the regulators enforce, and they are also what earns repeat bookings. A client who was told about a passport validity requirement before they paid is a client who books again. A client who learns about it at the airport is a complaint.

Mistakes that cost new travel agencies

• Selling before registration. In Ontario this is a contravention of the Travel Industry Act, 2002, even while an application is pending. Promotion counts, not just completed sales.
• Mixing client money with operating money. Trust accounts exist so a supplier failure or an agency failure does not take client prepayments with it. One mixed account can end the licence.
• Assuming one province's licence covers Canada. Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec each run their own regime. Check before selling across a provincial line.
• Skipping the designated manager requirement. In Ontario, three years of verified travel industry experience plus both certifications is a hard requirement for the manager, not a preference.
• Issuing thin receipts. In British Columbia, the receipt carries the information a compensation claim depends on. A receipt missing the licence number or the itemized cost hurts the customer and the agency.

Related guides: How to Get a Business Number in Canada, How to Start a Consulting Business in Canada, Business Trust Accounts in Canada, Do Freelancers Need a Business Licence in Canada, How to Register a Business in Ontario, and How to Register a Business in British Columbia.

Sources

• Travel Industry Council of Ontario, registration overview and requirements
• Travel Industry Council of Ontario, home-based travel agencies and registration
• British Columbia Laws, Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, Part 9 licences (travel agent and wholesaler definitions; licence required)
• British Columbia Laws, Travel Industry Regulation (licence qualifications; security at licence issue)
• Consumer Protection BC, travel receipt requirements and Travel Assurance Fund
• Consumer Protection BC, Travel Assurance Fund contributions
• Légis Québec, Travel Agents Act, section 4 (licence required; counsellor certificate)
• Office de la protection du consommateur, travel counsellor obligations
• Office de la protection du consommateur, Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents
• Canada Revenue Agency, Business Registration Online