After the cancellation of state licensing of travel agency activities, enterprises and entrepreneurs engaged in this sphere will lose the opportunity to identify themselves in the market as retailers of travel products. The license had not only a disciplining function, but also indicated the firm’s belonging to a certain professional market of services. With the absence of such an identifying feature, it will be virtually impossible to distinguish a travel agency company from other businesses: as a result, the boundaries of the industry will be blurred, and the degree of consumer confidence in its representatives will decrease. On 30 January 2012, additions and amendments to the Law “On Tourism Activities” come into force, according to which the licensing of travel agency activities is cancelled. As the experience of other countries shows, it is obvious that the market needs a new tool to keep track of travel agents. The Unified Register of Travel Agents of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter in the text – the Register) is created for this purpose.

Participation in the Register is voluntary: every business entity that is involved in the provision of travel agency services has the right to sing up in the Register, receive a registration number and a certificate of registration. In the conditions of cancellation of licensing of travel agency activities, the appearance of such a register is important for tour operators and even more important for consumers. The first project will help the former to orientate themselves when choosing a partner, and the latter – when searching for a legitimate travel agency, from which you can buy a tour. This resource will become a navigator, with the help of which it is possible in any city or region of Kazakhstan to find a verified (of course, included in the Register) travel agency specializing in the destination or type of holiday that a tourist needs.

The Certificate does not have a permissive function, and this is its difference from a license – in other words, no one can hold you liable for not being registered in the voluntary register. The certificate is an instrument of voluntary self-identification in the market, necessary to present your company to consumers, partners, state authorities as a participant in the tourism industry. The certificate of registration can be used as proof of belonging to the tourism industry in any legal relations. For example, in court, when it is required to confirm the status of a travel agent in a dispute with a consumer, when participating in a state tender for the provision of tourist services, in public advertising, in contracts with tour operators and other participants in the tourism market. If necessary, an extract from the Register of Travel Agents with information about the company can be provided.

Are the organizers of the Register of Travel Agents liable if an agency turns out to be dishonest?

The Unified Register of Travel Agents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as any other register, contains information about the participants, formal information about them and their contacts, but is not a guarantee of their integrity. The register fulfils another function – actualization of reliable information about enterprises operating in the travel agency market, ensuring its transparency. The owners and managers of these enterprises are responsible for unlawful actions of this or that subject of the market. In case of a legal conflict, upon a motivated request of the competent authorities, the Kazakhstan Tourism Association (KTA) can provide a reference about the enterprise.

The Kazakhstan Tourist Association (KTA) provides the service of formation and maintenance of the Unified Register of Travel Agents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, regulates the procedure of submission of documents for formation and maintenance of the Unified Register of Travel Agents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as, according to the application of the head of the travel agency, makes changes to the Unified Register of Travel Agents of the Republic of Kazakhstan and provides information about the travel agent registered in the Register.

The KTA implements:

entering information on a legal entity carrying out travel agency activities into the Register;

making changes to the information about the travel agent contained in the Register;

refusal to enter information about a legal entity in the Register;

exclusion of information about a travel agent from the Register;

submission of information on the travel agent contained in the Register.

The grounds for refusal to enter information about a travel agent into the Unified Register of Travel Agents of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the provision of unreliable information by the travel agent.

Grounds for exclusion of information about a travel agent from the Unified Register of Travel Agents of the Republic of Kazakhstan:

liquidation of a travel agent – from the day following the day when KTA became aware that the travel agent is in the process of liquidation;

termination of the travel agent’s activity as a result of its reorganization;

in case of unfair activities of a travel agent (deception of consumers, etc.).

presentation of false information about the travel agent;

failure to pay the registration fee.

The decision to exclude information about a travel agent from the Register shall be executed by a relevant act of KTA, which shall be posted on KTA’s website: kaztour-association.com.

Procedure for filing documents in connection with a change in information about a travel agent. If a travel agent has the following changes:

Change of name and/or address (location): (Application for amendments to the information contained in the Register, new address data).

Change of information about the founders (participants): Application; extract from the Minutes of the General Meeting of Founders (Participants) or decision of the sole founder).

Change of information about the manager (Application, copy of the manager’s certificate, order of appointment).

Information on structural subdivisions (branches) carrying out travel agency activities (Application, information statement on addresses (locations) and postal addresses of structural subdivisions of the legal entity carrying out travel agency activities).

Documents confirming the authenticity of these changes shall be submitted in originals. After making changes to the information in the Register, KTA shall take a decision on issuing a certificate on making changes to the information about the travel agent in the Register.