TRAVEL to Asia continues to
slow as cautious corporate and
leisure clients cancel bookings
over fears of the coronavirus.
Canvassed agencies and airlines say
clients are cancelling existing trips
and that forward bookings for later in
the year have slowed considerably.
Ceo of Tourvest Travel Services,
Morné du Preez, says corporate
travel has been impacted, with
clients cancelling trips not only to
China but to Asia in general.
Club Travel ceo, Gary Mulder,
agrees and says travellers are
nervous about travel to international
airport hubs around the world. He
says corporate travellers are cutting
down on travel to the east and that
one client has instructed Club Travel
to cancel an upcoming conference
in Asia and rebook it locally.
A corporate traveller from a
large electronics firm told TNW his
company was issuing stop-sells on
travel to China and was currently
quarantining employees at home for
two weeks after trips to China to
ensure that the virus did not spread
locally.
Director of Amazing Journeys by
China Experience, Benjamin Zhang,
says almost all bookings for travel
during February, March and April
have been cancelled. He says they
are requesting refunds from the
ground handlers on a case-by-case
basis but while Chinese operators
are somewhat lenient, they are
finding it very difficult to get money
back for last-minute cancellations to
Vietnam and Cambodia. Benjamin
says there has been an 80% drop
in forward booking enquiries for the
year.
Rene Swart, operations manager
of Wendy Wu Tours, says its tours
to China only commence in March,
ahead of the spring and
summer season, and the
operator has been unaffected
by cancellations relating to
the virus thus far.
Operations manager of
Pentravel, Michelle Boshoff,
says consultants are receiving
a number of calls from
concerned clients who are
considering cancelling their
trips to Asia.
Leisure clients have raised
concerns with agents over
travel to Thailand, although
they are still enquiring about
bookings tour operators say.
The Holiday Factory product
manager, Marilyn Padiachy,
says they have received
calls from agents about the
situation in Thailand. She
says enquiries were quieter in
the last week but that these
were still coming through
for passengers wanting to
travel during the April school
holidays or later in the year.
Market development
manager of Singapore
Airlines, Sally George, says
the airline has been awash
with phone calls from clients
concerned about travelling
to Asia in general. “We are
monitoring the situation
continuously and are
constantly updating Travelinfo.
At present we are offering
full refunds or date changes
to passengers travelling to
China. Normal cancellation or
date change penalties apply
to passengers who want to
cancel their bookings to other
destinations.”
To stay up to date on
airline changes and news,
visit etnw.co.za.
