GUIDELINES

ON APPLICATION FOR LICENSE

TOUR OPERATING BUSINESS
&
TRAVEL AGENCY BUSINESS

MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CULTURE OF MALAYSIA

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GUIDELINES ON APPLICATION FOR LICENSE

TOUR OPERATING BUSINESS & TRAVEL AGENCY BUSINESS

1. Application requirements:

(a) Private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act 1965.

(b) In compliance with the issued paid-up capital and equity limit requirements as set out
in Appendix A (Companies having foreign equity exceeding 51% equity are not
permitted to hold the tourism vehicle licence – in the case of companies in Sabah,
Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan).

(c) Shareholders shall not have any interest (share equity) in any other tourism agency
company licensed under the Tourism Industry Act 1992.

(d) Shareholders (foreign company) shall have been in operation in their countries of origin
for at least 5 years.

(e) The name of the company shall signify a company undertaking the tour operating
business and travel agency business (travel, tours, holiday, vacation, adventure, etc.).

(f) The Memorandum and Articles of Association or Form 11 (Notice of Resolution)

shall state that the business conducted is the tour operating business and travel agency
business (“To carry on business in tour operating business and travel agency business”).

(g) Free from any compound under the Tourism Industry Act 1992 or the Tourism
Vehicles Licensing Act 1999 (Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan).

2. Documents required:

(a) Memorandum and Articles of Association (MAA);

(b) Form 9 (Certificate of Incorporation of Private Company);
(c) Form 11 (Notice of Resolution); – if applicable
(d) Form 13 (Certificate of Incorporation on Change of Name of Company); – if applicable
(e) Form 24 (Return of Allotment of Shares);
(f) Form 32A (Form of Transfer of Securities); – if applicable
(g) Form 44 (Notice of Situation of Registered Office and Office Hours and Particulars of
Changes);
(h) Form 49 (Return Giving Particulars in Register of Directors, Managers and Change of
Particulars);
(i) MyKads (Malaysian citizen) / Passports (non-Malaysian citizen) of shareholders and
members of the Board of Directors;

(j) Proof of Work Experience:

 Letter of confirmation of work experience from previous or current employer for
shareholders / members of the Board of Directors /staff.

 Resume for shareholders / members of the Board of Directors / staff.

 Form 24 & Form 49 & the registration of the relevant company if the Director
and shareholder are owners / directors of other companies; and
 MAA & Form 24 & Form 49 & company profile if the shareholder is a
corporation.

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(k) A copy of the Certificate of Registration of Company and company licence in the case
of shareholder is a foreign company. Such copy of the document shall be verified by the
Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (Tourism Malaysia) / Embassy of Malaysia /
Office of the High Commissioner of Malaysia in the relevant country.

(l) Academic certificates in the field of tourism/business of the shareholders / members of

the Board of Directors / employees (if any).

(m) Letter of business cooperation with foreign tourism agency, in the case of application
for Outbound licence.

(n) Draft of the proposed tour packages that will be offered, in the case of application for
Inbound / Outbound licence.

(o) Working paper containing business planning, target numbers of tourist arrivals in
Malaysia and short-term revenue for companies with shareholders are foreign companies.

(p) A copy of the latest audited annual financial statement which has been submitted to
and verified by the Companies Commission of Malaysia, in the case of companies
previously licensed by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture but whose licence has
expired / has been revoked.

3. Application procedure:

(a) Complete the information for application in the Tourism Industry Licensing System
(SPIP) through its website at www.spip.gov.my;

(b) Upload all the documents set out in paragraph 2 to the SPIP

4. Processing Fee:

(a) Online payment: RM100.00 for each application at www.spip.gov.my; or

(b) Manual payment: RM100.00 in the form of postal order / bank draft / money order
made payable to the PESURUHJAYA PELANCONGAN (Commissioner of
Tourism).

5. Application Result: The result of the application will be made known in a letter sent to the
registered address of the company (Company Secretary as stated in Form 44 of the company).

5.1 APPROVED Application

 The licence number will be stated in the letter of approval, and before handover of the
licence and sticker, the company shall:

(a) Prepare its business premises within the period of two (2) months of the date
of the letter of approval in accordance with the following criteria:
 Premises floor space requirement in accordance with Appendix B;

 The head office premises must be situated within a structure and shall have
a permanent address;

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 The premises must not be shared with any other businesses other than the
business for which it is licensed; and

 The premises must be within a commercial area and not in a residential

area.

(b) Submit the following documents for purposes of inspection of premises:

 A copy of the tenancy agreement of the premises which shall be for at least
one (1) year or a copy of the sales & purchase agreement if the premises
are owned by the company;

 A sketch of the floor plan;

 Photographs (in colour) of the interior and exterior of the premises.

(c) Submit a copy of the Certificate of Membership of a Tourism Association

recognised by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture as per Appendix C.

(d) Submit a copy of the TTMC Certificate:

 At least one (1) representative of the company shall have attended the Travel
and Tour Management Course (TTMC) organised by a tourism training
institution licensed by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture as following:

i. A member of the Board of Directors; and

ii. An employee holding a position in the company’s top management

(example: Chief Executive Officer / Chief Operating Officer / General
Manager, etc.).

(e) Pay the licence fee:

 Upon receipt of the letter notifying that the relevant premises fulfil the
criteria set by the ministry; and

 Upon compliance of all the criteria set (if applicable).

5.2 REJECTED Application:

(a) The company may file an appeal online at www.spip.gov.my within the period of 14
days of the date of the letter of rejection;

(b) Submit the relevant documents based on the grounds of rejection of the application;

(c) Settle the compound (if any) for any offence under the Tourism Industry Act 1992
or the Tourism Vehicles Licensing Act 1999 (Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal
Territory of Labuan);

(d) The company may file an appeal once only as the result of an appeal is final and
conclusive (no further appeal may be filed); and

(e) In the event the appeal is dismissed, the company may submit a new application
online at www.spip.gov.my.

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6. Client Charter: 5 working days from the date of receipt of the complete application

7. License Fee:

NO. SCOPE LICENSE FEE LICENSE PERIOD

1. Inbound RM250.00 1 year

2. Outbound RM500.00 1 year
3. Ticketing RM200.00 1 year
4. Inbound & Outbound RM750.00 1 year
5. Inbound & Ticketing RM450.00 1 year
6. Outbound & Ticketing RM700.00 1 year
7. Inbound, Outbound & Ticketing RM950.00 1 year

8. Date of Enforcement:

 These guidelines shall come into effect beginning on 2 SEPTEMBER 2014.

Note:
Inbound = Domestic tour operating business
Outbound = Overseas tour operating business
Ticketing = Travel agency business
Foreign company = Tourism agency enterprise licensed outside Malaysia

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APPENDIX A

SHAREHOLDER, EQUITY LIMIT AND PAID-UP CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS

TOUR OPERATING BUSINESS & TRAVEL AGENCY BUSINESS

NO. SCOPE SHAREHOLDER SHAREHOLDING EQUITY LIMIT LOCATION ISSUED PAID-UP

(MAXIMUM) OF CAPITAL (MINIMUM)
PREMISES
1. Inbound Foreign Company 100% Urban / RM1,500,000.00
(ASEAN / Non-ASEAN) Rural
2. Inbound & Ticketing Foreign Company (ASEAN) 70% - Singapore / Cambodia only Urban / RM1,000,000.00
51% - other than Singapore / Cambodia Rural
3. Inbound & Ticketing Foreign company (Non-ASEAN) 30% Urban / RM 500,000.00
Rural
4. Outbound Foreign Company Not permitted Not Not applicable
(ASEAN / Non-ASEAN) applicable
5. Inbound Citizen/Local Company 100% Urban RM200,000.00
Rural RM 50,000.00
6. Outbound Citizen / Local Company 100% Urban / RM200,000.00
Rural
7. Ticketing Citizen / Local Company 100% Urban RM200,000.00
Rural RM100,000.00
8. Inbound & Outbound Citizen / Local Company 100% Urban / RM200,000.00
Rural
9. Inbound & Ticketing Citizen / Local Company 100% Urban RM200,000.00
Rural RM150,000.00
10. Outbound & Ticketing Citizen / Local Company 100% Urban / RM200,000.00
Rural
11. Inbound, Outbound & Citizen / Local Company 100% Urban / RM200,000.00
Ticketing Rural

Note: (1) Urban category if the business premises are located within areas under the jurisdiction of the City Council or Municipal Council
(2) Rural category if the business premises are located within areas under the jurisdiction of the District Council

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APPENDIX B
PREMISES FLOOR SPACE REQUIREMENT
TOUR OPERATING BUSINESS & TRAVEL AGENCY BUSINESS

URBAN RURAL FLOOR SPACE EXEMPTION

APPROVAL OF (CITY COUNCIL & MUNICIPAL (DISTRICT COUNCIL) (NO MINIMUM FLOOR
APPLICATION COUNCIL) SPACE REQUIREMENT)

SCOPE MINIMUM SCOPE MINIMUM

SIZE SIZE (Sq. Ft)
(Sq. Ft)
Ticketing 80 Ticketing 50 (1) Ticket / Tour counters at
Master licence Inbound 200 Inbound 100 airports, tourist jetties
(head office) Outbound 200 Outbound 100 and bus terminals
Inbound & outbound 250 Inbound & outbound 150 (2) Tour desks at hotel
Inbound & ticketing 250 Inbound & ticketing 150 lobbies
Outbound & ticketing 250 Outbound & ticketing 150 (3) Kiosks / Booths in
shopping complexes
Inbound, outbound & ticketing 300 Inbound, outbound & ticketing 200
Ticketing 40 Ticketing 25 (1) Ticket / Tour counters at
Supplementary Inbound 100 Inbound 50 airports, tourist jetties
licence Outbound 100 Outbound 50 and bus terminals
(branch office) Inbound & outbound 125 Inbound & outbound 75 (2) Tour desks at hotel
Inbound & ticketing 125 Inbound & ticketing 75 lobbies
Outbound & ticketing 125 Outbound & ticketing 75 (3) Kiosks / Booths in
Inbound, outbound & ticketing 150 Inbound, outbound & ticketing 100 shopping complexes

Note: Sq. Ft is square feet

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APPENDIX C

LIST OF TOURISM ASSOCIATIONS

RECOGNISED BY THE MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND CULTURE OF MALAYSIA

1. Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA)

2. Bumiputera Travel and Tour Agents Association of Malaysia (BUMITRA)

3. Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA)

4. Malaysian Indian Tour & Travel Association (MITA)

5. Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MiTA)

6. Car Rental Association of Malaysia (CRAM)

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