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Mandy Zuo

Naomi Ng

Many mainlanders have called off travel plans to Thailand following the Bangkok temple bombing, tour agencies say.
Others who booked discounted tickets are waiting to see if they will face any financial loss should they cancel their trips.
The China National Tourism Administration on Tuesday issued a travel advisory warning Chinese citizens already in Thailand or planning to travel there to be cautious and to rework their itineraries.
Bangkok's Erawan Shrine - normally bustling with foreign visitors - was eerily quiet an hour after it reopened yesterday.
"I've heard the attack was targeted at Chinese tourists, but I'm not too worried," said Yang Yong from Yunnan province, who was with his family of six. "I expect the Thai government would have stepped up security … so I suppose it's safe now."
On the mainland, tour agencies reported many cancellations. Anny Lou, an assistant manager at Shanghai's Jin Jiang Travel, said about half of her Thailand tour clients had cancelled their trips.
"The cancelled orders so far even include those departing in September, although we tried to explain to them that this was just one incident," Lou said. "What worries us most now is that this might impact the National Day golden week holiday."
Industry insiders expect the impact from the bombing to be short term, giving the examples of Malaysia and South Korea, whose tourism sectors were dealt heavy blows because of accidents or disease but recovered quickly.
Shi Kaifeng, a spokesman for tour agency Ctrip, said while some had called off their trips, most clients were still mulling of whether to do so as they had bought discounted flight tickets that did not allow for refunds. "I believe that as a traditionally popular destination, tourism to Thailand will recover soon," Shi said.
Malaysia, which was hit last year by the disappearance of its Malaysia Airlines flight 370, had since returned to the list of mainlanders' top 10 tourist destinations, Shi said. South Korea, which was hit by an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome that claimed 36 lives a few months ago, has also seen its tourist numbers rebound.
Wei Xiaoan, who heads the World Tourism Cities Federation expert committee, said that unlike a warning against travelling to Nepal during an earthquake in April, the tourism authorities' travel alert for Thailand was a low-grade one. The impact on tourism in Thailand would be modest, he said.
Meanwhile, relatives of Shanghai blast victim Shao Qing were making arrangements to fly to Bangkok after receiving notification of Shao's death.
Shao travelled to Bangkok with her husband, Zhang Yu, and daughter, Zhang Yi Han, on Sunday. Her husband and daughter were being treated in hospital and their injuries were not life-threatening, her cousin Jessi Shao said.
As dusk fell in the Thai capital yesterday, locals streamed to the shrine to lay flowers for those killed in the bombing.
Several police officers and a handful of soldiers patrolled the area around the temple as workers repaired a pavilion damaged by the blast.
"I'm here to show that we're not afraid," said American tourist Frank Hull. "If the Chinese people would like to worship a Hindu god, they have every right to do so."
 
 


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Many mainlanders have called off travel plans to Thailand following the Bangkok temple bombing. Photo: Reuters 


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