Section 157. Definitions

1.  "Travel consultant" means any person, firm,
  corporation, partnership or association, other than a common carrier  or
  employee of a common carrier, who as principal or agent, sells or offers
  for  sale any travel tickets or orders for transportation, or negotiates
  for or holds himself out by solicitation, advertisement or otherwise  as
  one who sells, provides, furnishes contracts or arranges for such travel
  tickets or orders for transportation.
    For  the  purposes  of this article, "carrier" means any person, firm,
  corporation, partnership or  association  engaged  in  the  business  of
  transporting persons for hire.
    2.  "Travel promoter" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership
  or association, other than a common carrier  or  employee  of  a  common
  carrier, who is primarily engaged in the direct solicitation of persons,
  by   mail  or  telephone,  for  the  sale  of  any  travel  or  vacation
  investments, goods, products, or services, including, but not limited to
  travel or tour benefits, real property, interests in real property, time
  shares, lodging,  commodities,  or  securities.  For  purposes  of  this
  article, a "travel promoter" does not include:
    a.  A person, firm, corporation, partnership or association that is an
  officially appointed agent of a common carrier and  meets  standards  no
  less than those required on January first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine,
  for authorized agents of the airline reporting corporation.
    b.  A  person, firm, corporation, partnership or association that is a
  registered member in good standing of  the  Cruise  Lines  International
  Association  and  who  solely  solicits and/or sells travel services and
  products as an officially appointed agent of one or more ocean  carriers
  in  the  sale  of  the  ocean  carrier's travel services pursuant to the
  agency appointment.
    c.  A  broker-dealer  registered  with  the  securities  and  exchange
  commission  or  the  department  of  law  who  is engaged in the sale of
  securities or commodities or sale or rental of real estate  pursuant  to
  its registration.
    3.  "Travel services" means transportation, accommodations in lodgings
  such as hotels, motels or motor courts, rental of motor vehicles, or any
  other service related to travel. For purposes of this  article,  "travel
  services" shall include investments in time shares.
    4. "Time share" means an interest in any arrangement, plan, scheme, or
  similar  device,  whether  by  membership, agreement, tenancy in common,
  sale, lease, deed, rental agreement, license, or right-to-use  agreement
  or by any other means, whereby three or more purchasers, in exchange for
  a  consideration, receive ownership rights in or a right to use the same
  accommodations or facilities in real property, or  both,  for  different
  intervals  of  less  than  a  full  year  during any given year, but not
  necessarily for consecutive years, and which extend for a period of more
  than three years or which, for nominal consideration, may be renewed  to
  continue for a period of more than three years.
    5.  "Merchant  account  number" means an identifying number given by a
  credit card issuer  to  a  merchant  for  purposes  of  identifying  the
  merchant in the processing of credit card charges and purchases.