The booming economy of Thailand is heading towards its peak of success with every passing day. A few industries are growing because they are backed by the Board of Investment, some benefited from their location near the Special Economic Zones and some are grown for their value and strong-rooted market in Thailand, for example; Tourism. Therefore, starting a travel agency in Thailand now can be a good business idea altogether.
Tourism is one of the biggest industries in Thailand incurring economy huge profits. Hence, it is one of the best places to invest at the moment. But one of the foremost things in opening a travel agency in Thailand is to acquire the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) license. There’s something called the Tourist Business and Guide Act that controls and regulates the tourism and tour guide sector of Thailand. But in order to just sell tickets and book hotels, one doesn’t need the TAT.
Steps to open/start a travel agency business in Thailand:
- Set up a capitalized company of 2 million Thai Baht
- Acquire an office space
- Employ efficient employees to run the agency
- TAT license as approval to operate for which a deposit bond needs to be posted that amounts from 50,000 to 200,000 depending on the extension of the business
But there are certain criteria for acquiring the TAT license:
- The company registration process must be completed.
- The company must have office space acquired.
- At least 51% of the shares of the company must be owned by Thai nationals.
- At least 50% of the managers must be Thai nationals.
- The Managing Director of the company must have a clear record of living in Thailand for 20 years.
- The company should have a clear record and never have had a Tourism license suspended in the past.
- The company should not have had a Tourism license canceled unless it was canceled for more than 3 years.
Acquiring a TAT license for the travel agency business is again a lengthy process including accurate presentation of all the required documents. The documents required, here, are:
- TAT application form along with the sign of one of the Thai directors and company seal
- The Certificate of Registration and objectives of the business, according to the Civil and Commercial Code
- A list of the company shareholders that is certified by the Minister of Trade
- The report of the business establishment’s meeting was also certified by the Minister of Trade
- A copy of the director’s personal ID card and his registered address certified by the director
- Company seal
- Two office photos
- A map showing the location of the office
- Ownership proof of the office
- Copy of Power of Attorney
- Guarantee with cash or cheque
After all this, one may consider joining the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA). This will grant one access to associate with many hotels in Thailand.
