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Amy Nip

Tours to Korea and Taiwan are almost fully booked for this Christmas as travellers avoid Japan and Thailand, recovering from quakes and floods respectively.
Tours to Bangkok will resume on Thursday,  but the travel trade expects the number of tourists going there to be halved because of a red travel alert that is still in force.
The Japanese market has yet to recover since the earthquake and tsunami, and nuclear scare, in March and the Travel Industry Council  expects the number of tourists going there to be about 10 per cent down on last year. Travellers are heading to other parts of Asia despite prices being pushed up by a weak Hong Kong dollar.
Tours to Korea cost from HK$4,389 to HK$19,999 this year, up from last year's range of HK$3,999 to HK$9,699. The most expensive has luxury dining and accommodation.
'Prices are up because the Hong Kong dollar is too weak,' said council executive director Joseph Tung Yao-chung. 'Strong demand from mainland tourists has also pushed up prices of hotel rooms in Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian countries.'
Bangkok, where the floods are beginning to recede, is enticing tourists with bargains. A trip to the Thai capital can cost as little as HK$1,699 - 25 per cent less than last year. 
In Japan, Hokkaido tours start from HK$8,999 - HK$900 less than last year. The costliest tour, to Honshu with a price tag of HK$36,888, is one led by columnist and food programme host Li Shun-yan  - cheaper than a HK$46,880 tour led by fellow food critic Chua Lam last Christmas. 
Prices of tours to Taiwan are similar to last year. The cheapest tour to Taipei is unchanged at HK$2,499 while due to promotions by airlines, a trip to Kaohsiung costs as little as HK$2,799 compared with last year's HK$3,199.
Christmas tour prices go up an average of 5 per cent year on year, while Lunar New Year tours cost 10 per cent more than Christmas ones. 
Despite instability in North Africa and the Middle East, and natural disasters in Asia, travel agencies managed to earn 2 per cent more revenue in the first 10 months of this year.
The council said tourists needed to be careful when buying packages. They should check if a refund can be arranged when red travel alerts were announced, Tung said. To avoid arguments, travellers can buy insurance policies which guarantee a refund in such cases.



Korea, Taiwan popular for Christmas