Travel Agents

The Travel Agents industry plays a vital role in making Singapore an exciting destination for visitors and facilitating travel arrangements for travellers.

Today, there are over 1,000 travel agencies in Singapore, offering unique travel experiences for locals and visitors alike.

• STB works closely with industry stakeholders to develop capabilities, while maintaining a relevant licensing and regulatory environment. For more information on licensing matters, please visit the Travel Agent Licence page.

Amendments to the Travel Agents Act and Travel Agents Regulations

The Travel Agents Act and Travel Agents Regulations have been amended to enhance consumer protection measures and better position the travel agent industry to grow and thrive in a rapidly evolving tourism landscape. The changes will take effect in phases from January 2018.

Click here to read the guide​ for more information on the amendments

As part of STB’s efforts to go digital and streamline workflows, all TA Licences will be issued electronically via the Travel Agents and Tourist Guides Licensing System (TRUST) with effect from 15 September 2022. 

Travel agents will be able to access their licence via the TRUST portal after their licence applications or renewals are approved. Travel agents will be able to download the licence and self-print for display thereafter. Travel agents can look forward to reduced waiting times for licence issuance and receipt upon approval of licence applications or renewals.

The new licence design includes enhanced features like a QR code which will allow members of the public to check and verify the authenticity and validity of the licence in real time. This will provide greater assurance to members of the public when interacting with the travel agent.

All licences issued before 15 September 2022 remain valid and do not need to be converted.

The Travel Agents Regulations will currently remain unchanged. The transition to licence only involves changes to licence design and its mode of delivery. For the avoidance of doubt, travel agents are still required to display the licence.

Together with NATAS, STB launched the Travel Agent Roadmap in August 2016. ​

For more information on the Roadmap and other capability development collaterals, please visit the Travel Agent Roadmap Resources page.  

​Destination Singapore - The Complete Guide for ​Travel Agents

​Destination​ Singapore ​guide is your go-to resource on what Singapore has to offer.

​​Download​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ (29 MB)​​​​​​

STB offers a number of grant schemes to assist stakeholders in the Travel Agents industry in enhancing their business competitiveness and growth. To find out more about these schemes, please click on the following hyperlinks:

• Tourism Product Development Fund
• Kickstart Fund
• Training Industry Professionals in Tourism
• Business Improvement Fund

• ​Active Travel Agents
• Suspended Travel Agents
• Revoked Travel Agents

• TRUST website
• NATAS website​
• Practice Guides and Circulars 

Platform operators who intend to list services relating to tours, travel or guiding services should first conduct due diligence checks to ensure that the necessary Travel Agent and Tourist Guide licence requirements are met before deciding to publish the listing.

For more information on how to do so, please refer to STB's Guidelines for Platform Operators.

Travel agents who wish to handle inbound tourists coming from China are required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS). All China outbound travel agents are required to work only with Singapore inbound travel agents who have signed the MOU, and only these Singapore travel agents will be allowed to apply for China Group Visas from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA).

To find out more about the MOU, please contact NATAS via email​ or at 6534 0187.

For more information on the travel agents industry, please contact the Tour & Industry Development team at stb_tid@stb.gov.sg.

For more information on licensing matters, please contact the Travel Agents Licensing team at stb_ta@stb.gov.sg.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​