About
Conscious of its duty to provide consumers with first-rate services and the importance of maintaining harmonious professional relations with its colleagues, each member of the ATOQ adheres to the following ethical principles and commits to respect:
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS THE CUSTOMER
The member shall not utter words or publish articles contrary to the laws and regulations or induce anyone to infringe upon them, but may for reasons and by legitimate means criticize any provision of the law, challenge its application and request that it be repealed or amended.
The conduct of the member must be one of objectivity, moderation and dignity.
The member must promote education and information measures in the field in which he practices.
The member must seek to establish a relationship of mutual trust between himself and his client
The member must fulfill his professional obligations with integrity. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the member must not:
1. hide facts and / or circumstances that enable clients to make an informed choice about the services available to them;
2. neglect to provide clients with the accurate and complete documents essential to the trip;
3. neglect to notify the client of all the necessary formalities relating to and essential to the trip;
4. neglect to notify the client of its financial obligations to its suppliers and any administration or modification fees that may be required
The member must avoid any misrepresentation as to his level of competence or the effectiveness of his services and his accreditations and commercial identifications.
The member must objectively explain to the client the nature and scope of the issues that may arise from the mandate given.
The member shall, as soon as possible, inform his client of any changes occurring during the execution of the mandate entrusted to him by the client and obtain his agreement on this subject.
The member must demonstrate in the exercise of his profession, a duty of care and due diligence.
DUTIES AND OBLIGATIONS TOWARDS THE PROFESSION
It is counter to the dignity of the profession for a member:
1. not to inform the ATOQ within a reasonable time, of a derogatory act committed by another member;
2. to engage in business practices that are contrary to the interests of other members and the travel industry in general.
Member's Code of Ethics
Tour Operators or wholesalers
Tour Operators or wholesalers are the organizers and providers of package holidays or F.I.T. arrangements. They negotiate contractual agreements with hoteliers, airlines and other suppliers, and then promote and sell these bundled or unpackaged trips, usually through travel agents.
FIT
F.I.T. for "Free Independent Traveler" which means a traveler or small group of travelers who travel independently The products of wholesalers that are sold under the term FIT means that these products are not sold in packages, but separately to allow the traveler to determine his own travel package down to the smallest detail, we could say it's a tailor-made or a la carte trip.
Outbound vs. Inbound
There are tour operators who specialize in what we call outbound trips for travelers leaving our Province or country, while others are Inbound and offer trips to accommodate travelers from other countries. Some wholesalers do both, ie they offer trips for both foreign and local travelers.
Travel Agencies and Retailers
The travel agencies or retailers sell trips organized by the wholesalers directly to the consumer, they act as advisers to the traveler in order to assist him in his choice of products or services for the organization of his trip. The travel agency retailers represent tour operators and suppliers in the resale of their products.
ATOQ members
ATOQ members are licensed by the "Office de la protection du consommateur" under the Travel Agents Act.
CATO
The ATOQ works closely with its Ontario counterpart, the Canadian Association of Tour Operators, "CATO"