SINGAPORE 28 May 2018: Singapore Tourism Board reported, last week, that it revoked the travel agency licence of Baba Travel effective 24 May in accordance with the country’s Travel Agents Act chapter 334.
Baba Travel’s licence 01409 was rescinded after it was found guilty of falsifying a key executive’s identity in its application for a licence renewal.
Baba Travel will still be required to make full refund to all its existing customers, or hand over its existing obligations to a licensed travel agent.
STB notes in its announcement that it takes a serious view of errant travel agents and will not hesitate to take necessary actions to protect the reputation of Singapore’s travel industry.
STB had also received complaints from Baba Travel’s industry partners and customers regarding outstanding payments owed by Baba Travel.
STB is the only national tourist office in Southeast Asia that alerts the trade and travel consumers to changes in the legal status of travel agents that sell to the trade or direct to consumers.
It goes a long way to safeguarding travel consumers from fraud and allows them to source legal tour companies through access to an updated online database.
In other countries in the region, information on the status of travel agencies is more difficult to source and often information on the cancellation of licences is only available to trade associations that in turn omit to share notifications with travel consumers.
For the most up-to-date list of licensed travel agents in Singapore, visit the Travel Related Users’ System (TRUST) website, https://trust.yoursingapore.com.
