Tour Operators in Canada Under Probe for Anticompetitive Tactics

Canada’s largest tour companies, the Association of Canadian Travel Agents and the Association of Quebec Tour Operators are being investigated by the Canadian Competition Bureau for possible anticompetitive behavior against Go Travel Direct, a tour operator that does not use intermediaries.

The Ottawa tour company ruffled feathers when it entered the business in 2000 with a model that bypassed travel agencies and sold tours for less than its competitors.

Court documents, which became public early this month, revealed that the bureau obtained warrants in a Quebec court last August to “enter, search and copy or seize for examination or copying” records from the premises of several large operators.

These include the offices of Air Canada Vacations, Signature Vacations, Sunquest Vacations, Tours Mont-Royal and Transat A.T., as well as those of ACTA in Quebec and the AQTO.

According to court papers, the affected operators account for about 80 percent of Canada’s packaged-tour market; Go Travel Direct accounts for 3.8 percent of the market.

Competitors have pressured suppliers in all the company’s markets, Boyle said, except for Las Vegas, where Go Travel Direct obtains its rooms through a third party.