Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) has convicted Holy Destinations Travel Inc.
After being charged by TICO, the company pleaded guilty to:
- 29 counts of failing to deposit consumer money in a trust account;
- 29 counts of making representations that are false, misleading or deceptive; and
- One count of failing to provide the Registrar with a letter stating the date when it ceased operations and the location of where business records are kept.
Mohamed Hachemi Bensaci, the sole Corporate Director of Holy Destinations Travel Inc., has pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to take reasonable care to prevent the corporation from committing an offence.
Holy Destinations Travel Inc., which operated as a registered travel agency in Ontario from 2019 until its registration was revoked by the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) on 26JUL 2023, specialized in organizing Islamic holy pilgrimages, including Hajj trips to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Consumer complaints led to an investigation that revealed the travel agency had collected payments for Hajj packages in 2023 despite a Saudi Arabian government mandate in 2022 requiring North Americans to book Hajj packages exclusively through an official government portal. Holy Destinations Travel Inc. continued to sell travel packages that were no longer available and failed to deposit consumer funds into its trust account or provide refunds.
A total of 41 consumers reported losses amounting to CAD$436,500, with some receiving partial reimbursement from the Travel Industry Compensation Fund, which covered CAD$142,000 in losses.
Bensaci and Holy Destinations Travel Inc. are scheduled to be sentenced on 26MAY 2025.
Individuals convicted in Court of offences relating to the Travel Industry Act, 2002 are subject to fines of up to $50,000 and/or prison terms of up to two years. Corporations are subject to fines of up to $250,000.
