Travel Agency Scam: How Bangladesh Tourism Is Recovering

How Bangladesh’s Tourism Business Is Coming Out of the Recent Travel Agency Scam Crisis

Bangladesh’s tourism industry has experienced a rocky few months, marked by a series of high-profile travel agency scam collapses that have eroded public trust. Since then, starting with Flight Expert and then Fly Far International, the apparently unyielding downfall of the online travel agencies in Bangladesh has been the evaporation of the Travel Business Portal, with customers who have not received refunds making stay-course payments to each one.

These travel agency fraud cases, which have rocked the travel industry in Bangladesh, affecting travel agents, individual customers, sub-agents, airlines, and the entire tourism sector, have exposed an inherent regulatory loophole and underscore the dire need for reform. Nonetheless, a mix of legislative changes, state intervention, and industry self-reform is currently underway to restore the travel industry’s confidence and institutional sustainability.

In this deepest blog, we shall discuss how the tourism business in Bangladesh is bringing out of the shadow of these scandals the reasons and the effects of these three major collapses and how the new law of the travel agency that has been updated in Bangladesh is making it possible to create a new regulatory environment that would protect both the travelers as well as the travel firms.

Understanding the Travel Agency Scam Wave

1. Flight Expert: The First Shock

The first major travel agency scam to rock Bangladesh was the sudden collapse of Flight Expert, once a prominent Bangladesh online travel agency offering flight bookings, hotel reservations, visa services, and tour packages. In early August 2025, its website abruptly went dark, its office was locked, and customers were left unable to access their bookings or contact executives.

Behind the scenes, allegations emerged that the Managing Director had fled the country, leaving behind thousands of customers and small travel agencies with substantial unpaid balances. Police complaints and general diaries filed at Motijheel Police Station revealed that Flight Expert had taken advance payments for tickets and services it never properly issued, sparking fears of a massive travel agency scam.

Industry insiders later estimated the total misappropriated funds could be in the hundreds of crores of taka, with victims ranging from individual flyers who paid for holiday trips to sub-agents who fronted large sums to secure airfare inventory.

2. Fly Far International: Pattern of Collapse

Just months later, in October 2025, another Bangladesh online travel agency—Fly Far International—collapsed amid similar fraud allegations. Like Flight Expert, Fly Far had attracted customers with heavy discounts on flight tickets and package deals, prompting many to make advance payments. However, its platform soon became inaccessible, and its office closed, leaving customers and travel professionals stranded.

Fly Far’s disappearance underscored that the Flight Expert collapse was not an isolated incident but symptomatic of broader vulnerabilities in an opaque, lightly regulated online travel marketplace. It became clear that without appropriate safeguards, incentives for aggressive marketing and unregulated B2B ticketing structures would continue to breed malpractice.

3. Travel Business Portal: The Third Blow

Before the industry could fully recover, yet another scandal hit: Travel Business Portal reportedly vanished with over BDT 100 crore in advance payments from customers and sub-agents after luring them with heavy discounts on tickets. Customers found the company’s website and office closed without warning, while executives became unreachable. 

As the third major collapse in a short period, this travel agency scam further eroded trust across the tourism sector. Sub-agents and customers alike voiced alarm on social media and in complaints, stating that Travel Business Portal had accepted substantial advance payments without delivering services, then disappeared overnight, leaving many out of pocket and uncertain where to turn.

Collectively, these collapses highlighted structural weaknesses in Bangladesh’s travel agency framework: lax oversight, unprotected advance payments, and the absence of robust consumer safeguards.

Economic and Reputation Impacts on Tourism Businesses in Bangladesh

The cumulative effect of these travel agency scandals on Bangladesh’s tourism industry—still in growth mode—is profound. The tourism industry in Bangladesh spans not only large travel companies and airlines but also small- and medium-sized travel agents, local tour operators, and related service sectors such as hospitality and transportation.

• Loss of Consumer Confidence

One immediate impact has been a loss of trust among travelers. Many potential tourists now fear booking through online platforms, especially lesser-known agencies promising deep discounts. Even travelers who were not directly affected by the scams are increasingly hesitant to engage online or make advance payments for travel services.

This sentiment has had knock-on effects across other parts of the tourism ecosystem, including hotel bookings, tour packages, and inbound travel bookings, where uncertainty about ticket validity persists.

• Strain on Sub-Agents and Small Businesses

Local travel agents who acted as sub-agents for the collapsed OTAs were struck, with many reporting losses in the tens of crores of taka. These small businesses often operate with tight working capital, and the sudden loss of funds threatens their ability to stay afloat.

In some cases, travel agencies have had to refund customers out of their own pockets or face legal disputes with customers demanding restitution—creating a liquidity crunch throughout the sector.

• Airline Relations and B2B Risks

Airlines also face complications from fake or unpaid bookings. Tickets issued through a Bangladesh online travel agency that subsequently disappears often remain technically valid, but refunds, reissues, or changes become exceedingly difficult to process, creating operational headaches and financial ambiguity.

Moreover, airlines may be left holding the balance of unsettled funds from bulk ticket allocations granted to OTAs in anticipation of sales that never materialized.

Government Response and the New Travel Agency Law in Bangladesh

In response to these destabilizing incidents, the Bangladeshi government has acted decisively to reform and strengthen the regulatory framework governing travel agencies. As part of this effort, authorities amended the Bangladesh Travel Agency (Registration and Control) Act, 2013, through an ordinance promulgated on 1 January 2026 and gazetted on 2 January 2026 to ensure better governance, prevent artificial ticket shortages, and protect migrant workers. The ordinance sets separate bank guarantee requirements—BDT 10 million for online agencies and BDT 1 million for offline agencies. It bans fake bookings, B2B ticket trading, and any sales outside approved financial channels.

Agencies are prohibited from taking advance payments through false promises or misleading ads, and offenses involving migrant workers—such as rerouting tickets through third countries—will be treated as crimes. Violators may face up to one year in prison, fines up to BDT 1 million, or both. At the same time, authorities may impose travel bans in cases involving fraud. Licenses must now be renewed every three years, with mandatory annual reporting and financial disclosure, and loan defaulters will be barred from registration.

• Industry Reactions to the New Travel Agency Law

Responses from industry stakeholders reflect both concerns about the burdens of new compliance and cautious optimism that reforms could stabilize the sector.

While many travel agents hailed the regulatory changes for enhancing customer protection and reducing systemic risks, some travel agency associations warned that stringent requirements could force smaller agencies to exit the market or contribute to job losses if they can’t meet the new financial criteria.

Yet others argue that raising the bar is essential. For too long, weak oversight allowed travel agency scams to flourish. The new regulatory framework may be challenging in the short run. Still, it is expected to strengthen the industry’s foundation for long-term growth.

How The Tourism Business in Bangladesh Is Recovering

1. Strengthened Regulatory Framework Boosts Confidence

In response to recurring travel agency fraud that harms clients and sub-agents, the government has introduced significant regulatory changes through the amended travel agency law in Bangladesh. The new regulations require banks to issue guarantees for agencies, which are much larger in the case of online platforms, and prohibit fraudulent activities such as fake bookings and the use of artificial seat shortages. This ensures that there are financial security measures to support forward payments and that fraudsters will not attract customers with unrealistic offers.

With the strengthening of the law, the government has started regaining the confidence of passengers and industry players, as they are now prepared to reserve travel services using the approved means. This is the basic step towards putting the tourism business in Bangladesh back to normal.

2. Crackdowns on Unregistered Operators Reduce Risk

Before the scams, most travel agencies were not adequately licensed or monitored, providing fertile ground for fraud. Since then, government agencies have been actively warning unregistered travel agencies and advising them to obtain legal licenses, with deadlines and legal implications if they do not.

These are aimed at eliminating bad actors in the market and strengthening measures restricting access to the sale of travel services to the target audience, one of the main steps that would make the Bangladesh online travel agency ecosystem safer, more responsible, and more consistent with global standards.

3. Consumer Awareness and Industry Best Practices Are Improving

The wave of fraud perpetrated by travel agencies has heightened people’s awareness of booking through travel agencies and rep sources. Customers and distributors have become more savvy and are checking documents before paying in advance, especially for air tickets and costly overseas tours.

Meanwhile, the old travel associations and professional bodies are promoting best practices, including transparent pricing, clear refund policies, and safe payment channels. These cultural shifts are reinforcing the sector internally, which is increasing a slower, yet more sustainable recovery.

4. Enhanced Enforcement and Legal Risks Deter Fraud

The revised laws also impose criminal punishments for fraudulent acts, such as sending criminals to jail, imposing fines, and even banning their travel.

This has already had a direct negative impact: would-be fraudsters are increasingly risk-averse, and regulators are allocating their resources to compliance rather than risk-taking. The assurance that law enforcement and regulatory bodies can act decisively will go a long way toward reassuring travelers, suppliers, and airlines that they can resume their bookings and regain their expected business processes.

5. Collaboration Between Public and Private Sectors

Government authorities, travel associations, airlines, and consumer rights groups are collaborating more closely than ever to communicate and create open avenues for reporting wrongdoing. In the case of an incident, there are more clearly defined channels for escalating complaints, and it is easier to get officials to respond.

This intersectoral cooperation is essential to the revival of the tourism industry in Bangladesh, as it will help overcome the situation by resolving issues and lessons and by coordinating to prevent isolated failures from cascading and affecting the industry’s longevity, prompting travel agencies to adopt safer business models and meet new legal requirements.

The wave of travel agency scam collapses in Bangladesh—from Flight Expert to Fly Far International and Travel Business Portal—was a wake-up call for an industry that had grown rapidly but without adequate safeguards. Credible reports of vanished funds, unreachable executives, and stranded customers brought the limitations of the existing regulatory framework into sharp relief.

Yet from this turmoil has emerged a powerful catalyst for transformation. The updated travel agency law in Bangladesh, enacted at the beginning of 2026, represents the government’s commitment to protecting consumers, strengthening governance, and restoring confidence in a vital sector of the economy.

By combining legal reform with industry cooperation, improved financial safeguards, and consumer education, the Bangladesh online travel agency market and the wider tourism business in Bangladesh are charting a path toward greater professionalism and resilience. While challenges remain, particularly for smaller agencies adapting to new compliance standards, the overall trajectory points toward a more transparent, secure, and trustworthy future for travelers and travel professionals alike.