Tourists rational towards SARS
7/1/2004 17:23
A suspected SARS case in the Philippines reported two days ago has
cast a shadow on the local overseas travel market in the upcoming Spring
Festival holiday, but no tourists have withdrawn from the package tours to date,
the Shanghai Morning Post reported today.
"We haven't received any notices on
the Philippine tours, and we will adopt counter measures following the
instructions of the Chinese government and the World Health Organization," said
a spokesman with the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission.
"We have
received several consulting phones yesterday, but no one withdrew from our
package tours to the Philippines yet," said Liu Ruiming, vice manager with the
outbound department of the Shanghai China International Travel Service (SCITS).
Tourists are rational and hold a scientific attitude towards SARS, said Liu,
adding that there is no panic among travelers.
If SARS cases are confirmed in
the Southeast Asian areas, it will have a negative impact on locals, and it is
likely that some travelers will withdraw from the package tours, Liu pointed
out.
The SCITS's package tours to Southeast Asian countries have been fully
booked to date, registering a total of 400 travelers.
"All our package tours
during the Spring Festival holiday have been booked up, but not many people
signed up for the Philippine tour," said an employee with the China Travel
International Ltd. Therefore, their business won't be largely affected, he
added.
Among the 1,500 people signing up for Southeast Asian tours, 300-400
of them will travel to Malaysia, the employee said.
If the WHO and Chinese
government don't release related bans on such tours, travelers have to undertake
the collected charges such as visa fees and air-ticket deposits themselves if
they want to withdraw from the package tours; if certain bans are released,
tourists are expected to get full compensation from travel agencies, said an
industry analyst.
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
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