New laws place outfitters in same boat as travel agents.

• Author: Ross, Ian

Ecotourism operators in northeastern Ontario are balking at paying government licensing fees that classify them as registered travel agents under new provincial consumer protection laws.

They want the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services to exempt them from the onerous financial requirements of the Travel Industry Act that places ecotourism outfitters, lodge owners and paddle sport companies who package tours in the same vein as booking agents, charter airlines and cruise lines.

Mary Nelder of Mindemoya on Manitoulin Island remembers the mantra repeatedly preached last year during a provincially-sponsored Sudbury ecotourism conference. That mantra was to "package, package, package" their tours and to utilize partnerships wherever possible.

Little mention was made of the Travel Industry Act and its financial implications, until Nelder received notification late last fall from the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO), the government's tourism regulatory body, advising her that her business was in contravention of the new legislation.

Nelder, who conducts cycle tours on Manitoulin Island, provides a one-fee package that includes meals and accommodations, baggage transfer, road support and maps. She contracts out meals and accommodations to other businesses on the island during the slower off-seasons.

"I love it and I think it benefits the economy of the island," says Nelder, who also serves as Central Manitoulin township reeve and works for the Lacloche Manitoulin Business Assistance Corp.

"I primarily operate in the shoulder seasons because cyclists prefer spring and fall, and that's ideal for the accommodations and restaurants on the island. I bring them customers during a time of year when they don't have much business."

But under the legislation, ecotourism operators who collect a single payment from clients for services such as accommodations and meals, that they do not directly provide themselves, are considered travel agents.

Refusal to bring her part-time, seasonal company--Bike Manitoulin--into compliance would result in a $25,000 fine or a year in jail.

Nelder says the application fee was $2,375, followed by an annual fee of $325.

She was also told to provide a minimum $5,000 line of credit to be kept in a trust account, as well as lay down a $10,000 security deposit to be held by TICO for two years.

In addition, registrants must pay into an Ontario Travel Compensation Fund twice a year according to a retail rate of 25...