Skip to content
  • Our data is copyright protected — copying without permission is prohibited
  • We handle no money, ever
  • No business is promoted for payment
  • Tell us if something is wrong — we check and fix it
AyRojgar

Travel agency

Tickets, visas and hajj-umrah packages. Ministry registration costs Tk 62,500, renewal Tk 25,000 every three years, and the 2026 ordinance requires a Tk 10 lakh bank guarantee.

  • Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
  • Version 1
Travel agency

Travel agency

Starting capital
৳12,00,000 – ৳25,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
2 – 8 people
First sale
45 – 120 days
Official source
Break-even
12 – 24 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Shop · Hard

About the business

A travel agency issues air tickets, prepares visa files, books hotels and sells umrah and hajj packages. It is not a business anyone can simply open. Registration comes from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism: Tk 5,000 application fee, Tk 50,000 registration fee and Tk 7,500 VAT, paid by treasury challan, Tk 62,500 in all. The certificate runs three years; renewal is Tk 25,000 plus Tk 3,750 VAT. The application must carry a bank certificate showing a balance of at least Tk 10,00,000, and renewal requires proof of at least Tk 50,00,000 of annual business turnover. The ministry's own service charter allows 45 days. From 1 January 2026 a new ordinance applies: an offline agency must hold a Tk 10 lakh bank guarantee and an online agency Tk 1 crore, with up to one year's imprisonment or a fine up to Tk 10 lakh for breaches. Income is commission - reported at 3 to 7 percent on air tickets and 10 to 15 percent on hotel bookings. Most small agencies are not IATA accredited, so they buy through larger agencies and give away part of that commission. The year runs on the Ramadan and hajj calendar: umrah crowds in Ramadan, and the largest sums at hajj, where the cheapest government package for 2026 was Tk 4,67,167. Customers pay long before they travel, and that float sitting in the agency's hands is exactly what the new ordinance is aimed at.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳4,16,667 – ৳10,00,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳4,67,167 – ৳7,50,000 / unitOfficial source
Variable cost৳4,40,000 – ৳6,90,000 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin3% – 15%Market quote
Time to first revenue45 – 120 daysOfficial source
Break-even time12 – 24 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle0 – 45 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss5% – 15%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity0.1 – 0.8Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • Travel Agency registration certificate from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism: Tk 5,000 application fee, Tk 50,000 registration fee and Tk 7,500 VAT, by treasury challan. Valid three years, service time 45 days.Licence
  • Renewal: apply at least 60 days before expiry. Tk 5,000 application fee, Tk 25,000 renewal fee and 15 percent VAT of Tk 3,750, with proof of at least Tk 50,00,000 annual turnover and an up-to-date income tax certificate.Licence
  • Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
  • Bank guarantee under the 2026 amendment ordinance: Tk 10 lakh for an offline agency and Tk 1 crore for an online agency. Breaches carry up to one year's imprisonment or a fine up to Tk 10 lakh, or both.Licence
  • A TIN certificate from NBR and an affidavit on a Tk 300 non-judicial stamp; both are compulsory attachments to the registration application.Licence
  • Knowing visa paperwork and embassy conditions, issuing and reissuing tickets in the reservation system, and pricing fares. A ticket issued for the wrong date is reissued at the agency's cost.Skill
  • A source of tickets: IATA accreditation, or an agreement as sub-agent of an IATA agency. Annual GDS connectivity is reported at Tk 5-10 lakh for a small operation.Supplier
  • An office at the registered business address with a tenancy agreement and rent receipts, or a holding tax receipt if owned. Shifting the office needs ministry permission, free of charge, in 30 days.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Decide first whether you are an offline or an online agency. Under the 2026 ordinance an offline agency needs a Tk 10 lakh bank guarantee and an online one Tk 1 crore; this single choice changes the capital tenfold.
  2. 2Fix the business address and get the rent agreement with rent receipts, or the holding tax receipt if it is your own. The registration application does not move without it.
  3. 3Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality and a TIN from NBR. Attested copies of both go into the registration file.
  4. 4Keep at least Tk 10,00,000 in the bank and get a bank certificate for it. The money is not spent, but it must be there on the day you apply.
  5. 5Pay the Tk 5,000 application fee by treasury challan to code 1-5301-0001-1816 and apply on the prescribed form, with an affidavit on a Tk 300 non-judicial stamp.
  6. 6The ministry verifies the file and issues a demand note. Then deposit the Tk 50,000 registration fee and Tk 7,500 VAT by challan and submit the originals. The certificate is issued for three years.
  7. 7Decide where tickets come from: become an IATA member yourself, or work as a sub-agent of a larger agency. Most agencies in the country take the second route, and that is where the commission share shrinks.
  8. 8Treat hajj and umrah as a separate decision. They need a separate licence from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which requires some years of prior travel agency operation.
  9. 9Keep customer money in a separate account. Payment comes long before travel, so large sums build up; spending that on running the office leaves nothing to buy tickets with at the end of the season.
  10. 10Keep the receipt, ticket number and passport copy for every sale. The new ordinance requires periodic financial and activity reports.
  11. 11Apply for renewal at least 60 days before expiry: Tk 25,000 renewal fee, Tk 3,750 VAT, with proof of Tk 50,00,000 annual turnover and an income tax certificate.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebHigh
  3. MarHigh
  4. AprHigh
  5. MayHigh
  6. JunHigh
  7. JulNormal
  8. AugNormal
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovNormal
  12. DecHigh
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · Shah Amanat International Airport, a large flow of workers to the Middle East, and corporate ticketing from the port-based business community.
  • Strong fitCumilla · A high number of people going to work in the Middle East, with many agencies along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in the district town.
  • Strong fitDhaka · The whole ticketing market sits in Naya Paltan, Fakirapool and Motijheel, with the IATA agencies, consolidators and embassies all here, as is the ministry's registration office.
  • Strong fitSylhet · Many families have relatives abroad, especially in the UK, so tickets move all year with a holiday-season rush, and Osmani International Airport has direct flights.
  • PossibleBrahmanbaria · A high rate of overseas migration, plus India-bound passengers through Ashuganj and Akhaura.
  • PossibleFeni · A district that runs on remittances, sitting on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway so passengers are easy to reach.
  • PossibleGazipur · Garment factory workers and outbound labour migrants, plus corporate travel bookings from the factories.
  • PossibleMoulvibazar · Many expatriate families in the Sylhet region, plus domestic tourism bookings around the Srimangal tea gardens.
  • PossibleNarayanganj · Dense settlement close to Dhaka airport, with a business class that travels often.
  • PossibleNoakhali · A large share of Middle East workers come from here, and holiday return tickets are the main business.
  • Weak fitCox's Bazar · There are tourism bookings, but mostly domestic hotels and buses; the international ticket market is small.
  • Weak fitRajshahi · There is an airport but no international flights, so almost every passenger routes through Dhaka and the commission thins.

Risks and cautions

  • HighCompliance: The amendment ordinance of 1 January 2026 makes a Tk 10 lakh bank guarantee compulsory for offline and Tk 1 crore for online agencies, with periodic financial reporting. The travel agents' association has objected that smaller agencies cannot raise this. Of roughly 5,800 registered agencies most are not IATA members. Registration can be suspended without a prior hearing, which is a further objection.
  • HighWorking capital: Merely keeping the registration alive requires Tk 50,00,000 of turnover a year, about Tk 4,17,000 a month. Ticket cost goes out to the airline or consolidator first, while commission is only 3-7 percent, so lakhs must be turned over for thousands of profit. One blocked payment stops the month.
  • HighDependency: Without IATA accreditation tickets come through another agency, which also takes a share of the commission. Roughly a thousand agencies in the country are IATA accredited; the other several thousand stand on this sub-agent arrangement. If your supplier raises the price or stops supplying, you have no alternative.
  • MediumDemand: Most of the income arrives in a few months. Hajj 2026 fell on 26 May with a quota of 1,27,198 pilgrims, and umrah crowds Ramadan. Once the season ends, office rent and salaries continue while sales drop. The hajj date moves about eleven days earlier each year, so the peak months shift too.
  • MediumLate payment: Corporate clients and large buyers take the ticket and settle later, while the airline must be paid on time. One big client holding a bill for two months comes out of the agency's own pocket, and then there is no room to take other bookings.

Sources

What changed

No corrections have been published yet.

Questions and answers

No questions yet. Be the first to ask.

Stories about this business

What went wrongThe chief executive of a small travel agency in Dhaka, in a BBC Bangla report

The platform shuts, and a small agent's 22 lakh taka of tickets is stuck

When an online travel agency shut down in August 2025, one small agency was left with 22 lakh taka of tickets bought in advance; a Motijheel police case alleges 4 crore and 79 thousand taka taken from 17 agents.

Reasons
Supplier problem, Working capital

Similar businesses

Digital & B2B services

Money exchange

Buying and selling foreign currency notes under a Bangladesh Bank licence. On 21 September 2026 the dollar was bought at Tk 125.60 and sold at Tk 126.60 — one taka a dollar. Doing this without the licence is a criminal offence carrying up to seven years in prison.

Capital
৳10 lakh – ৳45 lakh
People
2 – 6
First income
90 – 365 days
Editorial estimate
Digital & B2B services

Samity and microcredit lending

Savings groups and small loans. An MRA certificate is compulsory, and new applications have been suspended since 4 November 2024. The service charge ceiling is 24 percent on the declining balance.

Capital
৳15 lakh – ৳52 lakh
People
3 – 15
First income
35 – 70 days
Editorial estimate
Digital & B2B services

Truck and pickup hire

Carrying goods for hire by truck or pickup. Diesel is government-priced at Tk 115 a litre, but there is no government freight list - the rate is whatever you can bargain.

Capital
৳5 lakh – ৳30 lakh
People
2 – 4
First income
15 – 45 days
Market quote
Digital & B2B services

Tour operator

Running organised tours. It is not lawful without registration from the Bangladesh Tourism Board, and the 2024 rules require a Tk 300,000 non-refundable fee, a Tk 1,000,000 bank solvency certificate and a Tk 50,000 security deposit with the application.

Capital
৳3.5 lakh – ৳15 lakh
People
2 – 12
First income
90 – 365 days
Disputed