The last few years on social networks natural persons appear who offer services of accommodation, reservation of plane tickets and even package tour. Profiles that offer such services often contain "cheap" in their name, and this is what attracts most customers.
"Persons who do not have registered companies, and who sell tourist arrangements, violate the Law on Tourism, which defines the conditions for performing this activity." Consumers, the state and travel agencies are all threatened by illegal sales," Marko Dragić from the Association for Consumer Protection of Vojvodina told Vreme.
"I am not saying that this service will not be implemented, but we have no guarantee that it will be implemented." If the agency does not comply with the contract, the law protects us, we can return the money or get a replacement voucher", explains Dragić.
Favorable prices for arrangements sold by natural persons through social networks and payments to unknown persons should immediately arouse suspicion, and travel agencies cannot be competitive with the prices offered by natural persons, the president of the National Association of Tourist Agencies of Serbia (NATAS) Dragan explains to "Vreme" Subotic.
"Tourist agencies are burdened with various levies and of course they cannot be competitive with the offer of a natural person, because the agency pays taxes, insurance policy, space, utility bills, workers" explains Subotić and adds that the black market in Serbia is constantly growing, especially since covid .
Trust in strangers
"Our people trust social networks more than online payments," explains Dragan Subotic and adds that we are not digitally literate enough.
"Instead of paying for the plane ticket and booking accommodation themselves, they prefer to let someone else do it for them and show their trust in unknown people on social networks," said Subotic.
The National Association of Tourist Agencies of Serbia (NATAS) has repeatedly pointed out to the tourist inspectorate profiles that illegally sell tourist arrangements, and the inspectorate forwards those reports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, more precisely to the department for technological crime, because they are natural persons.
According to the president of NATAS, bank accounts where clients pay for their trips were mostly opened with forged identity cards.
"You arrive at your destination and head to the hotel, when your accommodation has not been paid for at all!" You will say well, I will sue the person when I come back. However, upon your return, you quickly realize that it is almost impossible to find the person to whom you paid for the services, because the person's bank account is registered with a fake identity card", explains Subotić.
Avoid the services of natural persons
Citizens very often ask the Association for Consumer Protection about profiles on social networks that provide travel organization services. As Dragić explains, travel agencies, if a traveler has a complaint, offer solutions on the spot, and the complaints usually refer to the shortcomings of the hotel itself. He adds that agencies generally give proportionate compensation.
The most important item is the travel contract, notes Dragić, because it is the only basis on which the traveler can have any claims. A contract can be signed with a natural person, but it does not have the same legal weight as one signed with a legal entity.
"Any services from physical persons should be avoided. You should only buy from legal entities, and from verified ones with good reviews. You should always travel with agencies that have paid insurance premiums", warns Dragić.
The insurance contract is a travel guarantee and is one of the conditions for obtaining an A license for organizing trips with more than one night in the country and abroad. It is from these insurances that passengers are paid if damage occurs, that is, the agency does not fulfill the contract.
It can be easily checked.
"If the passenger is not sure whether a natural or legal person stands behind the profile, he can easily check it. When they receive instructions for payment, if it is only the first and last name, it is clear that it is a natural person. If the instructions are in the name of the company, then it can be checked on the website of the Agency for Business Registers, where there is a special register for tourism. The name of the company is simply typed there, based on which you can see whether it exists at all, but also for which activity it is registered, which is also very important," explained Subotić.
In the European Union, this is unthinkable
There are no such cases only in Serbia, but also in the surrounding countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia.
"In the countries of the European Union, it's unimaginable, people don't deal with it, because it's a criminal act, tax evasion," says Subotić and adds that in Serbia there are laws that prohibit it, but the state simply doesn't deal with it enough, the financial inspection would could work, but they also transfer everything to the MUP.
