Tourists warned on hotel safety

PEOPLE travelling on budget tours were yesterday warned to check escape routes and fire-safety facilities in their hotels in the wake of the Thai hotel disaster.

It was not uncommon to find hotels with locked fire exits and poor safety facilities, it was claimed.

Chow Yick-hay, chairman of the Hong Kong Association for Tourists' Rights, said some southeast Asian hotels were sub-standard. 'What's worse, Hong Kong people have a low awareness of fire safety while travelling. Many are more concerned with whether the hotel is a five-star establishment.' His warning came after Friday's fire at the Royal Jomtien Resort Hotel in Pattaya, Thailand, in which at least 88 people died. No Hong Kong people were on the casualty list. A group of 40 Hong Kongers left the hotel just before the fire started.