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Travel counsellor in Ontario: TICO, pay and certification

Prepare for travel-counsellor work on behalf of a TICO-registered Ontario agency. Understand the 2026 combined certification program, agency relationship, official costs and dated employment evidence before you enrol.

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Start free practice →Official application steps ↗How to read these numbers

Official figures, with their limits

Employee gross hourly median

CAD 25.00

NOC 64310 · Travel counsellors; not a TICO/OPC-only cohort.

2023–2024 LFS reference · annual release 19 Nov 2025 · later minimum-wage adjustments may apply.

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Official certificate population

Not reported

Current individual certificate-holder total not stated in the reviewed report

2025/26 annual report; no individual stock date available

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Employment outlook

Moderate

NOC 64310 · Travel counsellors; not a TICO/OPC-only cohort.

2025–2027 · published 10 Dec 2025 · NOC 64310, not a certificate-holder-only forecast.

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TICO reports 8,200 exam sittings in 2025/26 and 119,801 exams since July 2009, not a current total of unique certified people. Its 1,870 registrations at 31 March 2026 are travel-retail/wholesale business registrations. None of these figures can substitute for current individual certificate holders or jobs.

The work, certificate and agency

TICO certification addresses the regulatory knowledge needed to sell travel services or advise the public on behalf of a registered Ontario travel retailer or online agency. It is not registration to run your own travel business. The combined course covers counsellor and supervisor/manager knowledge; an on-record management appointment remains subject to TICO’s separate requirements.

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What the employment evidence means

Job Bank rates NOC 64310 Moderate in Ontario for 2025–2027. Employment decline may remove positions, while retirement creates openings. Tourism recovery supports work, but online self-booking can temper demand. Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton–Niagara are rated Moderate; this is an occupational outlook, not a guarantee for a newly certified applicant.

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Your application checklist

Steps checked: 0/4

  1. Check whether your duties include public travel advice or sales and confirm the agency’s TICO registration. A course certificate does not register your own business.

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  2. Follow TICO’s link to Oliver’s and choose the current combined program. It is offered in English and French. Check identification, computer/camera requirements and any accommodation needs with the provider before paying.

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  3. The 2026 program combines counsellor and supervisor/manager content. The official exam has 80 questions, 150 minutes and a 70% pass requirement. Our original practice is revision; its score is not official certification.

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  4. Retain the official result/certificate and confirm your duties with the registered agency before public advice or sales. Check a host-agency arrangement if you intend to work from home. Business registration is a separate process.

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These checks are a personal reminder on this page. They are not saved, sent or proof of eligibility.

Home-based work still needs a host agency

TICO recognizes outside-sales representatives working on behalf of a registered host agency. Certification alone does not create an independent registered agency. Review the host agreement and regulator guidance before advertising or taking client money.

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Questions before you apply

How many TICO-certified people are there now?

No current unique-person total was found in the reviewed 2025/26 annual report. Its 8,200 annual exams and 119,801 cumulative exams measure sittings, and 1,870 registrations measure businesses. They do not answer the current-holder question.

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Does TICO certification let me open my own travel agency?

No. It permits the relevant work on behalf of a registered Ontario agency. Opening a retail or wholesale travel business requires its own TICO registration and applicable approvals; a program certificate does not replace them.

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Must existing certificate holders retake the new 2026 course?

TICO says existing certifications remain valid and do not expire. The new combined program applies to new enrolments from 5 January 2026. Someone seeking an additional management designation should check the current rules separately.

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Definitions, dates and limits

  • Regulatory population and employment are separate. No current individual-holder stock was found in the reviewed TICO 2025/26 report; its exam sittings and registered businesses are different measures. OPC’s 12,234 valid certificates at 31 March 2025 combine counsellors and agency managers. None is a live vacancy count.
  • Wages cover NOC 64310 travel counsellor employees across the occupation, not only TICO/OPC holders. Both provincial estimates use the 2023–2024 Labour Force Survey reference period and were released on 19 November 2025. Minimum-wage adjustments may affect published figures.
  • Amounts are gross CAD per hour. LFS wages include commissions, tips and bonuses and exclude self-employment. They are not base pay excluding commissions, take-home pay or the sales revenue/profit of a home-based travel business.
  • Outlooks cover 2025–2027 and were released on 10 December 2025. A later update to recent labour-market trends or the website is not a new three-year forecast. Moderate, Limited and Undetermined are occupation/region assessments, not individual hiring probabilities.
  • Official program, exam, certificate and business fees have different scopes. Confirm eligibility, agency arrangements, taxes and current charges directly before paying. Our bilingual editorial content does not establish eligibility for official English-language service in Québec.

Source availability: the provincial Job Bank wage and outlook profiles were directly readable during the final 25 October 2026 check. Several TICO and ITHQ pages blocked scripted access but opened normally in a browser; the cited program, fees and conditions were verified there. Figures retain their stated reference periods and are not a live data feed.

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Official references

The reference period describes the data; the checked date describes our editorial review. A page update is not a new statistical observation.