Yet another online travel agency allegedly disappears with clients' money

Just a week following the abrupt closure of Fly Far International, another online travel agency, Travel Business Portal, has allegedly shut down, after taking substantial advance payments from hundreds of customers.

Many of the platform's customers today (21 October) took to social media, alleging that they were unable to check air ticket prices or complete bookings on the Travel Business Portal's website since the morning.

TBS attempted to contact the company's owners and top executives but failed, and its office located in Hasan Uddin Tower, Shahjadpur, Dhaka, was found closed.

This marks the third online travel agency scam within the last two months, following the case of Flight Expert, whose owners reportedly fled the country in August with hundreds of crores of taka in customer funds.

A travel agent named Saif Islam told TBS on Tuesday evening that he had paid around Tk15 lakh in advance to the company for air tickets to Europe, the Middle East, and East Asian countries. He has since filed a complaint with Hatirjheel Police Station.

"We are alarmed about the multiple tickets we purchased from them [Travel Business Portal] for passengers with upcoming flights. If they fail to make timely payments to the airlines, our tickets will be cancelled, putting us in serious trouble," the written complaint stated.

"We have learned from confidential sources that the defendants [owners of Travel Business Portal] are planning to flee the country," it added.

Numerous victims shared similar allegations on social media, claiming they had been defrauded by the Travel Business Portal.

Attempts to contact Md Monzurul Alam, managing director of Travel Business Portal, were unsuccessful as his phone was switched off.

Emon Alam, general manager and younger brother of the MD, was also unreachable when TBS attempted to contact him.

However, a company official, speaking anonymously, told TBS, "We are completely unaware of how the MD and three other owners suddenly disappeared. We are now worried about our future and safety, as we may face backlash from angry clients."

"SM Travel and Tours is owed around Tk2 crore; Laldighi Travel & Tours has submitted Tk1.5 crore worth of unused tickets and Tk48 lakh in cash deposits; and Logistic Travels & Tours submitted over Tk30 lakh in unused tickets and Tk15 lakh in cash deposits," he added.

Travel industry reels from growing scams 

Frequent scams involving online travel agencies have fueled growing instability in the travel industry, with stakeholders blaming regulatory authorities for insufficient oversight.

These incidents are not isolated. The Flight Expert scam in August followed similar cases involving companies such as 24Ticket.com, FlightBooking.com, and several others. The repeated occurrences have raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the regulatory bodies.

"Online travel agencies lure customers with steep discounts, advance payment schemes, and cashback offers to pocket large sums, only to vanish abruptly. We have repeatedly written to the ministry urging action. Had effective measures been in place, these repeated scams could have been prevented," Asfia Zannat Saleh, immediate past secretary general of the Association of Travel Agents of Bangladesh (ATAB), told TBS.

In response to the growing concerns, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism issued a notice on 16 October, warning that several travel agencies are operating without proper approval.

"Numerous travel agencies in the country are operating without authorisation from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism or without a valid travel agency registration certificate. Such unregulated operations have contributed to a rise in embezzlement, corruption, and fraud within the air transport sector," the notice, signed by Deputy Secretary Mirza Murad Hasan Beig, stated.

The notice further stated that previous directives for unregistered agencies to regularise their operations were not properly implemented.

The ministry has urged all unregistered online travel agencies to apply for registration through the Online Travel Agency Management System at www.regtravelagency.gov.bd by 6 November 2025.

Failure to comply with the deadline will result in strict legal action, the ministry warned.