Working with travel agencies: contract, allotment, commission, cancellations

Farms, restaurants and rural experience providers increasingly sell through travel agencies and tour operators. This article explains what the law covers and what you must agree yourself in a contract. It describes the 2026 Republika Srpska Law on Tourism, not a rule for all of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In short

• The Law on Tourism ("Službeni glasnik RS" no. 49/26, of 2 June 2026) entered into force on the eighth day after publication (10 June 2026) and replaced the earlier law (nos. 45/17 and 16/23).
• The law sets no commission rate and no allotment rules (allotment: rooms or places held in advance for an agency). You agree them by contract.
• An agency needs a licence and a guarantee (bank guarantee or insurance policy) with a limit of up to 100,000 KM, or up to 30,000 KM if it only sells its own packages in RS and BiH (domestic and inbound tourism). The guarantee protects the guest if the agency becomes insolvent or goes bankrupt, and when the package contract is not performed (art. 34).
• An agency is not liable to the guest for damage caused by force majeure, but overbooking is expressly not counted as force majeure (art. 31, para. 2, point 2).
• An intermediary (an agency that only sells another agency's package) needs an intermediary contract and must sell on the same terms as the organiser, for an appropriate fee.

Who it applies to

Providers of accommodation, food, guiding and experiences who work with agencies, and agencies that contract them. The law expressly lists agency mediation of accommodation and catering in rural tourism facilities (art. 21, point 9). The law binds agencies; your rights and duties towards the agency come from your contract and general obligations law.

What to do

1. Before the first contract, check the agency's licence with the Ministry of Trade and Tourism of RS (Ministarstvo trgovine i turizma) and ask for the licence number. The agency must display the licence in its business premises and show the licence number in advertising and business documents (art. 25, points 11 and 19).
2. Establish who is the organiser and who is the intermediary. An intermediary sells in the organiser's name and account and must state the organiser's business name and licence number in the contract with the guest (art. 30).
3. Recommendation: put the contract in writing, in a language you understand. The law (art. 29, paras. 7 and 8) requires contracts in agency business to be in an official language of RS; a foreign language is allowed with a translation certified by an authorised person. Check with the agency whether this also applies to your contract.
4. Practical recommendation (not a legal duty), write into the contract:
   • price per person and night and what it includes, including tourist tax;
   • commission percentage, who calculates it and when it is paid;
   • allotment: number of rooms or places and the date until which the agency may release them free of charge (release deadline);
   • payment terms and any deposit;
   • cancellation charges by deadline (for example days before arrival) and who bears costs in case of force majeure;
   • what happens if you cannot host the guests or are overbooked: alternative accommodation, refund, who pays the difference.
5. Read the agency's general travel conditions before signing. They must cover cancellation, price changes and complaints (art. 26).
6. Keep booking confirmations and correspondence about allotment changes.
7. If you wish, agree to apply tourism usages (uzanse u turizmu). These are business customs that apply when the parties agree on them (art. 3).

Cancellations and overbooking

If the agency cancels a package, it refunds the guest under consumer protection and obligations law (art. 31). The guest is also protected by the agency's guarantee if it becomes insolvent. If you cancel on an agency, expect it to claim its loss under the contract, so agree limits in advance. The law gives no fixed cancellation deadlines or fees; general conditions and the contract decide.

The law defines overbooking as multiplying confirmed reservations by accommodation providers or agencies, where as a result the accommodation is not provided or not provided as agreed (art. 3). That includes you, so state in the contract who bears the consequences.

Where to go

• Ministry of Trade and Tourism of Republika Srpska (agency licences and interpretation of the law).
• For contracts and legal advice: a lawyer or the Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska.

Laws and sources

• Law on Tourism ("Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske" no. 49/26), arts. 3, 21, 25, 26, 29 to 31, 33 and 34
• Law on Tourism, text (National Assembly of Republika Srpska)
• European Commission, Package Travel Directive: Directive (EU) 2015/2302 applies in EU member states, not in BiH. Member states apply the amendments made by Directive (EU) 2026/1024 of 29 April 2026 only from 29 March 2029.