VietNamNet Bridge – Some travel agencies have suspended tours to Thailand for fear that clients will be caught up in demonstrations, and steered travelers to other destinations.

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Some travel firms have decided to halt organizing tours to Thailand, while some other said that they just provide current information that helps tourists to decide whether to travel there.

Meanwhile, the Tourism Authority of Thailand on March 15 sent a message to Vietnamese travel firms, reassuring travelers who fear for their safety when traveling to the neighbor country.

Vietravel and Fiditour have decided to halt providing tours to Thailand from March 14 to March 20.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, Foreign Affair Director of Fiditour, said on March 16 that two groups of tourists left Hanoi for Thailand on March 11 and are expected to return to Vietnam in the afternoon of March 16.

The groups are escorted by a Fiditour guide who stays in close touch with the firm.  Because the scheduled excursion places are far from the places where demonstrators gather, this has not inconvenienced tourists except at at the Royal Palace and the Golden Temple areas (the road has been sealed off).

“We keep regular contact with our partners in Thailand. . . .  If things get worse, Fiditour will advise travelers to choose other destinations, Singapore, Malaysia or China,” Mai said.

In fact, fearing the demonstrations, a lot of tourists have called off trips to Thailand.  A Redtour group of 300 people decided to cancel their trip to Thailand, slated for March 14; they left instead for China (Guangzhou and Shenzhen) on March 20.  Another group substituted a trip to Hong Kong for its planned tour to Thailand.

Meanwhile, Hanoitourist reports that one of its groups has shifted to Malaysia and Singapore, and fewer people are booking tours to Thailand than usual.

Vietravel said that the people who cancel tours to Thailand will get a full refund of their down payment and a five dollar reduction on the next tour they book.

Not all travellers have been scared off by the threat of riot and demonstrations.  Hanoi Redtour dispatched groups to Thailand on March 9, 12 and 13. The March 9  group has safely returned to Vietnam. Hoan said that the demonstrations were peaceful, and notably, demonstrators did not attack the airport like they did the last time. Therefore, tourists did not panic.

A representative of Hanoitourist said that some Vietnamese tourists even felt lucky when they had the opportunity to visit Thailand at the time whle there were demonstrations. Many of them considered it an excellent photo op.

Even so, travel firms all are advising their clients not to go alone and freely in the evening, or to places too far from their hotels.

Ha Yen