REGINA — The unexpected closure of a Regina travel agency won’t deter one couple whose dream vacation windfall was nearly jeopardized, but it has
put the unregulated industry on the Saskatchewan government’s radar. Justice Minister Don Morgan said his department’s Consumer Protection Branch will take a “careful look” at what occurred with Trade Winds Travel. Customers arriving at the business last week found the doors locked and a notice indicating two months’ rent is owed. The agency’s closure has shed light on the fact the travel industry is unregulated in the Prairie provinces. In regulated centres like Ontario, Quebec and B.C., customers can apply to recoup their losses from a fund, financed by the industry and customers. A spokesperson for the Association of Canadian Travel Agents said earlier this week the trade association would welcome regulation on the Prairies. Morgan said the travel industry in this province is too small for a government-operated fund, but suggested a self-insuring program by the industry itself may be the best solution. “We want to look and see what other options might be available,” he said, adding that a “national solution” is one possibility he’ll raise at the next meeting of federal and provincial ministers. Trade Winds’ owner Angela Lok can’t be reached for comment and calls to the business have not been returned. Marj and C.B. Wilson are among those affected by the closure. The couple were the excited winners of a trip that was the door prize at An Evening in Greece, a Regina charitable fundraising banquet. Christina Giannoutsos, chair of the February event, said the trip for two to Greece was purchased for $5,500 from Trade Winds. Wilson called and left messages for Lok last week to ensure everything was in place for the September trip. After a couple days without a reply, she and her husband went by the long-time business at 2401 11th Ave. to find it closed, with the only sign of life an aquarium of fish. Wilson, an animal lover, called the Regina Humane Society. (Animal protection workers learned the fish were being cared for, and the owner has since had them removed, according to the society.)
She also phoned her usual travel agent to get some help sorting out the vacation. Her agent was able to verify the flights and hotels had been booked, but only a small deposit paid.