National Tourism Registry: What it is and what it consists of

The National Tourism Registry (RNT) is a public registry in which all those who provide tourism services within Colombian territory must be registered. Registration is an essential step for the registration of companies in Colombia that intend to dedicate themselves to the economic sector of tourism. In this article, we will explain the details so that you can carry out the registration.

What is the RNT?

In accordance with article 61 of Law 300 of 1996, it is mandatory for all companies in the tourism industry to register in this registry. For example, hotels, vacation centers, travel agencies, tourism operators, tour guides, car rental companies for tourism purposes, restaurants and bars, travel savings collectors, etc.

The registry is managed by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia. In addition, it performs the following functions:

1. Identifies and regulates companies in the sector.
2. Integrates all the necessary information about the tourism sector.

Thanks to this, it is possible to carry out national and international behavior studies and thus carry out the planning of policies, programs and improvements that help the Colombian tourism sector.

Requirements to enroll in the RNT

According to Decree 229 of 2017 of Colombia, the requirements that all companies must meet to register will be the following:

• Be registered in all the registries required by law, including the Mercantile Registry.
• The Mercantile Registry must be valid. In addition, the activities and functions of the company must correspond to the commercial activity of the registry.
• You must fill out the corresponding form at the Chamber of Commerce website. You must provide the technical and operational capacity and information on the net worth of the company that you will register in the registry.
• You must adhere to the codes of conduct that prohibit the commercial sexual exploitation of minors.
• You must fill out the registry in accordance with Article 5 of Law 1558 of 2012.

It is important to clarify that each company must independently register each branch, business or agency it has.

Terms and Conditions

On the other hand, you must take into consideration the terms and conditions to which the registration in the RNT is subject. Please check them out below. Do not forget to take them into account:

• The update must be done in the first three months of the year. The date on which the first registration was made does not matter, unless it took place in that period.
• The procedure is carried out via internet.
• If not updated, the RNT will be automatically suspended. The service provider will be prohibited from carrying out tourism activities.
• The company must request the reactivation of the registry and pay the equivalent of a minimum wage to the National Tourism Fund.
• Changes of owner, legal representative, operator, address, name or sale of the establishment must be updated immediately.
• The modified information in the Mercantile Registry will be automatically updated by the chambers of commerce.
• The chambers of commerce will refrain from modifying the data that must be made in the Mercantile Registry.
• Sanctions will be applied to those who provide tourism services without being duly registered in the RNT.
• The fine will amount to between 5 and 50 current minimum wages and will be accompanied by a closure notice.
• After a business has been closed, it will only be restored if the respective fine is paid and the registry is updated.

As the registration procedure is mandatory and essential, it is of the utmost importance that you seek professional and expert advice. In this case, get advice from a bookkeeping company in Colombia. At JLC ​​Auditors we have a team of experts who are willing to help you with all the procedures that your company needs to be able to comply with this requirement.