AFTER daily essential goods, water, gold and petroleum products, the government has turned its attention on curbing illegal operations in the travel trade sector. The Industry Division of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, during a trial-monitoring in two specific places last week, found 25 percent of travel agencies were operating illegally. Seventeen out of 62 travel agencies they monitored in Thamel and Sinamangal areas were found to be operating either without permit or registered. “We have initiated action against three agencies and asked the rest to present their clarification,” said Purna Chandra Bhattarai, chief of the division. Under the current law, agencies operating without permit or who are not registered with the government will be fined Rs 20,000 and their operation will be shut down. The officials said they are also planning to look into type of businesses the agencies are doing and investigate whether they are abiding by the government taxation system. “The monitoring of travel agencies has been conducted as a trial following complaints,” said Bhattarai, adding that they would be gradually moving on to other areas, including operators of trekking and mountaineering business. The government statistics show that there are 2,209 travel agencies registered across the country, up from 1,739 in 2010. According to one estimate, more than 2,000 agencies are operating illegally. The effective monitoring would possibly lead to a reshuffle in the tourism sector, said Bhattarai. “If illegal practices are controlled, it will lead to a healthier tourism market and improve in the quality of travel services.” Of late, the travel trade sector have seen a steep rise in complaints of unfair competition and unjustifiable price hikes, causing much dissatisfaction among the public.
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