Shanghai Daily news

No local tourists are currently in Indonesia, which was hit by a massive earthquake on midnight Monday, the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission revealed yesterday.
Meanwhile, travel agencies have stopped offering package tours to Thailand's Phuket Island, which is in the proximity of the epicenter of the temblor - Gunungsitoli on the Indonesian island of Nias.
Local tourists who are still traveling in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand haven't changed their scheduled routes due to the earthquake. Some trip planners in the city, however, have asked for canceling the already booked Southeast Asian tours.
Some agencies said the disaster may have an adverse effect on the barely recovering Southeast Asian tourism market, which has suffered heavy losses from the December 26 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
The impact was likely to linger during the coming Labor Day holiday, they added.
"The tragedy won't fade from people's minds until three months later," said Wang Yang, general manager of Shanghai Airlines International Travel Service, which has seven groups, totalling 173 tourists, in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand currently.
He said some clients, who were originally booked on a Bali Island tour starting yesterday and today's Maldives tour, called to cancel their tickets.
Most local agencies said they would offer a full refund to those who want to quit similar trips.
Brunei, Cambodia and Vietnam may be the substitutes for disaster affected areas during the Labor Day holiday, Wang predicted.
"Phuket may be frozen out since it's a bit close to where the earthquake took place," said Chen Suiqin, general manager of Shanghai China Travel Service. "But farther away places like Bali and eastern Malaysia may still be attractive."