Penang travel agencies cancel tour group to Korea as MERS outbreak worsens

Guang Ming Daily, 2015-06-04

PENANG – With the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in Korea is getting worse, many have cancelled their upcoming trip to Korea, especially visits to hot destinations Seoul and Busan. Fortunately, June is not the peak season for Malaysians to visit Korea, local travel agencies did not receive a high number of cancellation. As the epidemic is still spreading, a Penang travel agency has cancelled its Korean tour groups scheduled on Thursday and Friday in consideration of the group members’ safety. The tour date will be deferred to a later date.

Forever Travel Service Sdn Bhd managing director Seng Hoon Eng told Guang Ming Daily in an interview on Thursday that her travel agency had a tour group to Korea scheduled on Friday. However, as the outbreak continues, many schools are closed. Due to safety concerns of their customers, the tour agency has contacted the airlines and its Korean travel agent to cancel the trip.

Air ticket will be extended to next year

She said the company was lucky that the airline was very understanding and agreed to extend the ticket validity to next year. Its Korean travel agent also assisted in cancelling the hotel booking.

She stressed that it is uncommon for travel agencies to cancel tour group that is about to depart. But due to the emergency situation and the worsened outbreak in the destination, the travel agent still decided to cancel the trip to ensure the safety of their customers even though the departure date is set on Friday.

Seng Hoon Eng said the tour group to Korea scheduled on Friday was set to begin in Seoul. About 20 to 30 group members were affected.

She said the trip was forced to be cancelled last minute and the travel agency will suffer some loss, but in order to uphold professional ethics and social responsibility, the travel agency had made a decision to postpone the trip to a later date when the epidemic is under control.

No cancellation for July group

Avion Holidays Sdn Bhd managing director Theng Kook Siong said his travel agency did not arrange any group to Korea, but have planned for groups to depart between July and September. Currently, the agency has not received any cancellation request from its customer.

He said most travel agencies are still taking the wait and see stand and hope that the MERS threat will be under controlled soon as July Hari Raya holiday is a typical peak season among Malaysian tourists.

Tour group will be cancelled if outbreak spreads

He said his travel agency will closely monitor the airlines’ contingency plans. If the outbreak continues to worsen, some airlines might cancel flights to Korea.

Kungfu Travels & Tours Sdn Bhd manager Wang Ai Ying (translated name) said fortunately this is not the peak season for Malaysians to visit Korea. In addition to that, many Penangites are waiting for promotional fare in an upcoming tourism fair in July, the current reservation is relatively low so there was no cancellation made.

The travel agencies and tourists are observing the situation, hoping that the group will be able to tour Korea safely after the epidemic is controlled.

Original Source: 中东呼吸症疫情加剧 檳旅行社取消韩团