JAMAICANS are being urged to exercise caution when conducting transactions with travel agents, as many pop-up agencies are operating without the required licences.

Dave Chin Chung, CEO of Go Jamaica Travel, has sounded the alarm, citing a significant number of unlicensed travel agents on social media platforms like Instagram.

“I’ve seen too many horror stories on social media. It’s bad, and I see them every single day. I know of companies that have lost $2-3 million due to this,” Chin Chung said in a recent interview with the Jamaica Observer.

Organisations and corporate groups also fall victim to these scams, even when the agent has good relations with them.

“Only about 30-40 per cent of travel agencies are licensed through the Ministry of Tourism; all the rest are not licensed, and I have a problem in terms of that,” he told the Business Observer.

He notes an increase in scamming, with many individuals being ripped off by unlicensed agents. According to Chin Chung, licensing would significantly reduce instances of fraud. While acknowledging that some new travel agencies may be genuine, Chin Chung believes that many are skipping the legal requirements to operate. The proliferation of pop-up travel agencies has not directly impacted Go Jamaica Travel, but Chin Chung asserts that it has created problems for hotels locally.

One hotelier, who wished to remain anonymous, has expressed frustration with unregistered travel agents operating in Jamaica. While she has no issue with pop-up travel agents that follow the proper channels, she is concerned about those that are not registered in Jamaica. The hotelier referred to these unregistered agents as “intel travel agents,” which are agencies based outside of Jamaica that recruit employees within the country to sell on their behalf. She claims that these agencies are not licensed to operate in Jamaica and are causing problems for hotels like hers.

“A lot of people are collecting money under the pretence of being licensed to sell on our behalf, and when their guests come to our hotel, they’re not one of our registered customers,” she explained to the Business Observer.

“We have no reservations for them, and the disgruntled guest, unfortunately, doesn’t seem to understand that it’s not us, the hotel; it’s the travel agent that did not register with us that has short-changed them.”

When situations like these occur, she says it creates chaos at the front desk, disgruntling guests and affecting others checking in. The hotelier warns people to do their due diligence, cautioning that if a price seems too good to be true, it probably is.

“Usually, their rates are significantly lower. When you contact them for banking information, it tends to be a personal bank account instead of a business bank account; there are signs!” she warned.

Hoteliers advise that they cannot control who takes images from their website and posts them on other platforms under false pretences. The hotelier did, however, emphasise the benefits of working with travel agents, citing their payment plans as a convenient option for customers. However, she stressed that trust is crucial in these transactions.

“When you come to the hotel directly, you have to pay everything in full. So, travel agents have their space in the market, and people can liaise with them. But if they’re not being trusted, it causes a big problem,” she said. “The pop-up travel agents just need to be regularised. I understand everyone has to eat, but let’s do it the right way.”

Sheryll Lewis, license processing and registration manager at the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), reiterated the importance of regulation. TPDCo processes licences on behalf of the tourist board, and Lewis defined a travel agent as anyone arranging transportation by air or sea under the Travel Agency Act. While TPDCo is aware of cases of unlicensed operators, Lewis noted that these issues become a police matter. However, TPDCo is urging the public to take action.

“They can ask to see a copy of one of the licences that these persons have and can verify with TPDCo,” Lewis said.

She didn’t explicitly state that the tourism board, or TPDCo, would take responsibility for ensuring travel agents were found and prosecuted. Instead, she emphasised that the onus is on the entity to obtain the necessary licence and stressed that customers must do their due diligence to protect themselves.

“Anyone doing business in Jamaica must ensure they meet the requisite licence and permit to do so, and if they’re not doing it, then they’re breaking the law,” she said.

The Jamaica Observer later reached out to TPDCo and the tourist board to ascertain the number of licensed travel agents in Jamaica and to also check the ease of verifying whether an agent is licensed. However, the attempt was unsuccessful as the customer care team was unable to provide immediate assistance, and the call was placed on hold for a lengthy time.