Relax - More cancel trips to Bangkok

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BANGKOK - Shooting incidents which started last Thursday in Bangkok and the Thai government’s crackdown on protesters there on Wednesday have resulted in even more Singaporeans shunning the usually popular holiday destination.

Five travel companies that spoke to my paper had seen cancellations and postponements of 10 to 80 per cent of trips scheduled to depart in March when the protests first started.

The situation is looking even bleaker this week: one company said that Singaporeans are avoiding the whole of Thailand now, while another had cancellations from all of its customers scheduled to travel to Bangkok this month and next month.

A third has seen the number of cancellations for trips to Bangkok tripling in the last week.

Ms Joan Tay of JP International Travel said: “Singaporeans are avoiding Thailand totally. Compared to a month ago, the situation has gone from bad to worse.”

Thailand is typically a “hot destination” for a mid-year holiday, but Singaporeans are not going there at all now, avoiding even other areas like Phuket or Koh Samui, she added.

Ms Alicia Seah, CTC Holidays’ senior vice-president of marketing & public relations, said that sales to Thailand had fallen by about 80 per cent, compared to the same time last year.

About 70 per cent of its customers went ahead with trips to Bangkok last month, but everyone has cancelled for this month and next month, she said.

Many have chosen to go to neighbouring destinations such as Bali, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Vietnam, she said.

Ms Eva Wu of Sino-America Tours Corporation said that the number of bookings for trips to Bangkok has “steadily declined since the unrest started” and has “come almost to a standstill”.

Dwindling passenger numbers have driven airlines to fly less frequently to Bangkok.

Japan Airlines will cut its number of flights from Osaka and Nagoya to Bangkok from seven flights per week to four and three per week, respectively.

Budget carrier Jetstar Asia, which operates three daily services between Singapore and Bangkok, plans to cut midday flights for two days this month.

It is offering passengers with bookings to Bangkok from now until next Monday options to alter their travel plans – go to a different destination, fly on a different date, or get a refund in Jetstar travel vouchers.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is cancelling one flight each out of Singapore and Bangkok daily from later this week.

It now has at least two flights daily out of Singapore and Bangkok.

It is waiving fees for rebooking and rerouting for confirmed tickets issued on or prior to May 14, for travel up to and including May 31, on all SIA flights to and from Bangkok.

Civil servant Peter Sim, 25, who cancelled his trip to Bangkok scheduled for mid-June three days ago, said: “I don’t think my friends and I will be able to enjoy ourselves there.

My parents have been advising me not to take the trip for about a month, and now that things are so bad, I thought it’d be better to listen to them.”

He is making arrangements to go to Hong Kong instead.

Interior designer Jessica Chng, 27, who returned from Bangkok two days ago, spent the last few days of her stay there alone in her hotel room as she was afraid of getting in the middle of any conflict.

She advised others against going there now: “It’s really scary there. I cried when I finally got back to Singapore. It’s better to stay safe. You can always go there in a few months’ time when the situation is stable.”

lingxin@sph.com.sg

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More cancel trips to Bangkok

By Sia Ling Xin, my paper | Fri, May 21 2010

Five travel companies had seen cancellations and postponements of 10 to 80 per cent of trips scheduled to depart in March, when the protests first started.

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