Does the agency you will be doing business with hold a licence from the Office de la protection du consommateur? Such a licence is mandatory for any agency operating in Québec. 

Why deal with an agency that has a licence?

Travel agents must supply a surety to the Office in order to receive a licence. It is an amount of money that can be used to compensate you should the agents fail to respect their obligations.

Doing business with a travel agent who holds a licence allows you to benefit from the financial protection provided by the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents. This fund can be used to reimburse you when a paid service is not rendered, for instance, following the closure of an airline.

You cannot benefit from these forms of protection if the agency does not hold a licence or if you make a reservation directly with the service provider (hotel, airline, etc.).

How to find out whether a travel agency holds a licence

To make sure that your travel agent holds a licence from the Office, go to the Get information about a merchant section.

Another way of finding out is to look for the words “Québec licensee” in the travel agent's advertising material, Web documents or print literature.

In addition, the travel agent is required to display the permit issued by the Office de la protection du consommateur for his or her travel agency, in full view, in each of his or her establishments.

Additional verification

After making sure your travel agency holds a licence, check whether the employee with whom you are doing business holds a travel counsellor certificate.