Consumer Protection B.C. suspends licence of 2nd Richmond travel agent in as many months

Richmond Centre is seen from above on June 4, 2018 (Pete Cline / CTV News)

Consumer Protection B.C. has suspended the licence of a Richmond-based travel agent and wholesaler after the company failed to submit required financial statements and failed to notify the regulator of a change in ownership last year.

In a decision published on its website earlier this week, CPBC announced the suspension of Aigoout Travel Ltd.’s licence under the province’s Travel Industry Regulation.

“Aigoout Travel is prohibited from booking any further travel until their licence suspension is lifted,” reads a summary of the decision.

“Consumer Protection B.C. has determined the company can fulfill any existing contracts for travel services which were purchased before the licence suspension.”

The penalty stems from two violations of the regulation that Gigi Hung, the regulator’s acting director of business practices and film classification, determined Aigoout Travel had committed.

The first relates to the company’s annual financial statements for the fiscal year that ended Dec. 31, 2024.

On Dec. 2 of last year, CPBC sent Aigoout Travel a letter advising it that the documents had not been filed as required and giving it two weeks to submit them.

“An email response was provided by Aigoout Travel Ltd. on Dec. 16, 2025, submitting financial statements for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2023,” Hung’s decision reads.

“The financial statements were for the wrong fiscal year. To date, the requested financial statements have not been submitted.”

The company’s response led to the discovery of the second violation, according to the decision.

The person who responded to the notice about the financial statements told the regulator that he had “recently taken over the business and is now the owner.”

“A review of the B.C. Registry’s Notice of Change of Directors further confirmed that a change in director(s) had occurred and had not been reported to our office as required,” the decision reads. “To date, the required reporting has not been submitted.”

Aigoout Travel “is and continues to be” in violation of the regulation on both counts, according to the decision.

The company has 30 days to request a reconsideration of CPBC’s ruling on financial statements or a hearing on the change in ownership ruling.

Aigoout Travel is the second Richmond-based travel agency to face licence suspension in the last two months.

In December, CPBC suspended the licence of Vegas Vacations Ltd. over that company’s failure to submit required financial statements.

Then, on Jan. 9, the regulator cancelled the company’s licence entirely, alleging that it “does not have sufficient working capital to reasonably be expected to operate as a travel agent.”

CTV News spoke to multiple customers of Vegas Vacations who alleged the company had overcharged them for trips that were never actually booked or were not delivered as advertised.

• Read more: B.C. travel agency has licence cancelled, as frustrated customers fight for refunds

CTV News has not received any such complaints about Aigoout Travel, nor is it aware of any connection between the two companies.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Lisa Steacy