TICO Announces Conviction of Holy Destinations Travel

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario has announced that Holy Destinations Travel Inc. and its sole Corporate Director Mohamed Hachemi Bensaci have been convicted on numerous charges after collecting nearly half a million dollars of consumer payments without providing the travel services purchased. 

Holy Destinations Travel Inc. was registered as a travel agency in Ontario from 2019 until TICO revoked its registration on July 26, 2023, after receiving consumer complaints. The company specialized in Islamic holy pilgrimages, including Hajj, to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. 

In 2022, the Saudi Arabian government announced that Hajj travel packages for North Americans would only be sold directly through a government portal. In other words, travel agencies could no longer apply for a Hajj travel package on behalf of prospective North American Hajj attendees. 

However, it was found that Holy Destinations Travel Inc. continued to sell Hajj packages (flights and accommodations) in 2023 to unsuspecting consumers, despite the packages no longer being available through travel agencies. The company failed to deposit the consumer funds collected in its trust account, and the funds were not returned to affected consumers.

In total, there were 41 affected consumers who engaged TICO, with losses totalling $436,500. In some instances, the Travel Industry Compensation Fund reimbursed consumer complainants for a portion of their losses, totalling $142,000. 

After being charged by the Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO), Holy Destinations Travel Inc. 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, as the sole Corporate Director of Holy Destinations Travel Inc., pleaded guilty to two counts of being an Officer and Director of a corporation and failing to take reasonable care to prevent the corporation from committing an offence.

Sentencing is set for May 26, 2025. Individuals convicted 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.