Macau travel agencies have been cancelling package tours to Bangkok since the beginning of this month because of the political unrest there.
Demonstrations in the streets of Bangkok have also deterred independent travel to Thailand, people in the travel industry told Business Daily.
“All tour group trips to Thailand from December 2 to December 18 have been cancelled,” said EGL Tours (Macau) Co Ltd’s general manager, Sabrina Iong Ut Iong.
“Altogether we had six or seven tours cancelled, each for groups of about 20,” Ms Iong said.
On December 2 the Hong Kong government warned Hong Kong people intending to go to Bangkok to adjust their travel plans and avoid non-essential travel.
It issued the warning after fighting between students and supporters of the Thai government at Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng University on December 1 killed five people.
Macau has no system for warning its people about travel abroad, but the Tourism Crisis Management Office advised Macau people going to Thailand to pay attention to the political situation there.
Travel Industry Council president Andy Wu Keng Kuong said most Macau travel agencies had cancelled package tours to Bangkok since the Hong Kong government had issued its warning.
“The number of tourists heading for Thailand will definitely see a drop this month due to the political situation,” Mr Wu said.
“But I would say the negative impact is limited to the travel agencies’ revenue, as many package tourists have opted for other places for five-day holidays, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Japan or [South] Korea,” he said.
Too much bother
Over 61,300 Macau people travelled to Thailand in the first nine months of this year, 31.2 percent more than a year earlier, Statistics and Census Service data show.
Over 40,000 went independently. The rest went in tour groups.
The number of Macau people visiting Thailand in package tour groups has been growing faster than the number visiting Thailand independently.
The number on package tours was 81 percent higher in the first nine months of this year than a year earlier, while the number travelling independently was 14 percent higher.
Ms Iong of EGL Tours said customers had been asking her agency to cancel arrangements it had made for independent travel such as airline tickets and hotel bookings.
“But in most cases customers have decided to stick to their bookings,” she said.
“They have spent their money and asked for the days off, and they don’t want to go through the bother of cancelling hotel bookings.”
Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has dissolved the lower house of parliament in an attempt to calm the increasing political turmoil.
But this failed to stop more than 150,000 protesters from marching through Bangkok yesterday to voice their demand for the removal of Ms Yingluck and the installation of an unelected government.
There is no Macau tour group currently in Bangkok, the Tourism Crisis Management Office told Business Daily, based on information from the tourism industry.
The office has received about 55 inquiries so far, mainly on travel safety and insurance, but no requests for assistance from residents travelling in Thailand.
Ms Iong said her agency was keeping a close watch on developments in Thailand.
“After December 11 we will decide whether or not to resume package tours to Bangkok,” she said.
With Reuters
Demos in Thailand hurt tour business
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