Travel Agent
Corruption Risks
Unscrupulous staff accept illegal commission from colluded shops or restaurants for arranging tourists to patronise those shops or restaurants.
Compromised staff accept advantages from shops for recommending them to the travel agent to apply for registered shops.
Staff accept advantage from shops for concealing tourists’ spending in the shops from the travel agent.
Corrupt staff accept tips from tourists or shops without the permission of the travel agent.
Dishonest staff embezzle admission tickets, meal coupons, or other tour fees for personal gain.
Compromised staff conspire with colluded land operators to inflate the price of services.
Unscrupulous staff accept advantage for allocating quota of over-subscribed tours of popular destinations during peak seasons to late-comers.
Tour escorts submit false documents to travel agents to deceive reimbursement or expenses incurred during outbound tours.
Tour escorts deceitfully collect tips and service charges from tour participants.
Compromised staff accept advantages from customers for reserving hotel rooms or low-fare group tickets for them during peak seasons.
Compromised staff accept advantages from hotel staff for selecting their hotels as service providers or conspiring with them to inflate the price of rooms.
Staff divert company’s business to other travel agents for personal gain.
Compromised staff accept advantages from well-acquainted coach companies or caterers for favouring the companies in awarding service contracts.
Purchasing staff leak quotation prices or tender information to potential suppliers.
Dishonest staff inflate order prices to pocket the price difference.
Unscrupulous supervisors accept advantages from tour escorts/tourist guides for allocating more jobs and duties that are likely to attract greater monetary returns (e.g. long-haul tours).
Compromised staff deceive company money with falsified attendance records or overtime claims.
Staff accept advantages from colluded candidates for showing favour in staff recruitment or promotion.
Unscrupulous staff falsify invoices or other documents to embezzle company funds.
Staff responsible for procurement has a financial interest in a company which is being considered by the travel agent for selection of a supplier, or the selected supplier is a close friend or relative of the staff.
Staff involved in selecting service providers (e.g. coach service, caterer) engage them for personal functions at concessionary rates.
The staff responsible for recruitment is a relative of a candidate under consideration in a staff recruitment exercise.
Resources
Integrity Training
The Private Sector Integrity Centre (PSIC) offers free anti-corruption and integrity training to help travel agents build an ethical corporate culture and prevent corruption and fraud.
PSIC organises webinars on the “PSIC Channel” for business practitioners across various sectors and industries. Click here to view details of the upcoming webinars and enroll now!
PSIC provides free and tailor-made training for managers and staff of travel agents.
Please contact us if you wish to arrange integrity and corruption prevention training.
