Alert hits Philippine tourism

25 Sep 2014 01:05:43

thestandard.com.hk

Tens of thousands of tourists from China have canceled trips to the Philippines after a travel warning by Beijing, inflicting serious pain on hotels, airlines and tour operators.

Beijing warned citizens this month to avoid visiting the Philippines, citing a foiled bomb plot against its embassy in Manila and the danger of criminal gangs.

The alert immediately affected the Philippines' most famous destination, the island of Boracay, with nearly 20,000 Chinese tourists canceling bookings within five days, regional tourism director Helen Catablas said.

"This is serious. The hotels were counting on income from these reservations. It's like money disappeared," said Catablas, adding the canceled bookings led to about 500 million pesos (HK$87 million) in losses.

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific has canceled 149 flights to and from China for the rest of the year.

China had been the Philippines' third-biggest market for tourists.

Read full story: thestandard.com.hk