RISING concern in China about the MERS outbreak in South Korea has led to a surge in travel cancellations, even as MERS is suspected to have crossed into Hong Kong.
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) revealed that 20,600 tourists have abandoned holiday plans to South Korea as of June 5. On June 2 alone, 4,500 tourists – including 4,400 from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong – decided to give South Korea a miss.
And the worst is yet to be – cancellation rates for visitors from China is expected to rise from 15 to 20 per cent, amounting to some 70,000 visitors.
Chinese travel agencies, including Caissa Touristic and Beijing Utour International Travel Service, have offered unconditional full refunds for cancellations of their South Korean tours.
However, a Guangzhou agency commented that sales to South Korea appear normal and that scheduled tours are proceeding as usual.
Nevertheless, the agency noted that industry players would be wise to refund visitors sooner rather than later in order to maintain their reputations.
Ctrip Shenzhen’s public affairs manager, Wang Yi, commented that both its group tours and free-and-easy travels to South Korea have proceeded as usual, but sales of South Korea itineraries have dropped significantly in the past two weeks, with sales at its Wuhan office plummeting by more than 40 per cent.
The company has also launched a WeChat group to connect travellers who have not embarked on their trips with those currently in South Korea to facilitate information sharing.
As of press time, there are 122 confirmed cases of MERS in South Korea, where the disease has claimed nine lives.
Meanwhile, fears of MERS in Hong Kong have spiked as authorities test two people who had both recently travelled to South Korea for possible MERS, according to Reuters.
Thirty-one people in Hong Kong suspected of having caught the disease have tested negative so far.
The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong axed all tours to South Korea until end-June, affecting some 20,000 travellers, once it received word of Hong Kong’s red alert advisory against South Korea on Tuesday.
Article by Yvonne Chang. Translated by Ong Yanchun; from the original TTG China e-Daily, June 8, 2015
