Shanghai Daily News

More than 300 local tourists who were traveling in southern Thailand or the Maldives when tsunami waves struck seaside resorts have returned to the city, and the remaining nearly 200 are on their way home, the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission said yesterday.

The Spring International Travel Agency said most of its tour groups returned yesterday, and the last group of about 20 people will arrive this morning.

Shanghai Airlines Tours International said all of its five tour groups flew back to the city yesterday.

Shanghai Workers' International Travel Service said 21 people - the only local tour group in the Maldives during the tsunami - returned to the city yesterday.

Local travel agencies said they will offer refunds to customers who want to cancel booked trips to Phuket or the Maldives. They will refund everything except the fee for visa application.

"Since the visa is valid for three months, it will still be useful if tourists postpone their journey or change their scheduled travel routes," said Wang Yan, general manager of Shanghai Airlines Tours International.

Ctrip.com, China's largest online travel service, said it has canceled all of its Phuket routes for the next three months and clients who have booked trips to the Thai resort island can claim a full refund for air tickets and hotel deposits.

Wang said he is pessimistic about the short-term future of the tour market to Southeast Asia, saying that it will be very slow during the New Year holidays, and may not recover until next February.

"Some people may consider those places as inauspicious, others will lose confidence in the facilities and service after the catastrophe," he said. "Even tours to nearby countries like Malaysia and Singapore may be affected."