Authorities look to bring stranded tourists home from Thailand

Tang Ky Chanh, one of the group, said he had heard about the political situation in Thailand even before leaving for the trip on November 22.

But he decided to go ahead thinking tourists would not be affected. But now he and the other tourists are extremely worried because they do not know when they can return home.

Another tourist, who wished to remain unnamed, said initially their tourist guide did not apprise them about flights being canceled, fearing it would upset the tourists, especially the older ones.

But the tourist guide had no choice after the airport was shut down, she said.

Since Vietnamese tourists traveling to Thailand do not usually carry much money, they were worried after their flights were canceled, she said.

Tang Quoc Quyen of Ho Chi Minh City said he called his family to inform them he was safe but they are very concerned, especially after watching the protests on television.

Most of the 3,000 stranded passengers at the airport were transported to hotels on Wednesday, and thousands of tourists are now trying to get out of Thailand, AFP reported.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said Thursday the ministry had asked the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok, Vietnam Airlines and local travel agencies to help Vietnamese tourists stuck at the airport.

The authorities also plan to bring by land those who need to return to Vietnam soon, he said.

Dung urged the Thai government to stabilize the situation.

Nguyen Quy Phuong, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s (VNAT) travel department, Thursday told Thanh Nien that his department had contacted 20 travel agencies nationwide to check the status of Vietnamese tourists in Thailand.

The administration has also talked to the Tourism Authority of Thailand which said it would provide free meals and hotel accommodation for Vietnamese tourists until the situation stabilizes, Phuong said.

Vietnam Airlines said Thursday it would continue to cancel all flights to Bangkok until November 29. Suvarnabhumi Airport authorities said it would remain closed at least until Saturday evening.

Trinh Ngoc Thanh, the airlines spokesman, said 330 of the airline’s passengers were now stranded in Bangkok, including 162 Vietnamese.

The number of Vietnamese tourists traveling to Thailand has dropped this year due to the political instability in the country, Duong Mai Lan, head of the development research division at Vietravel’s Hanoi branch, said.

“The situation is becoming worse with the closure of the main airport in Bangkok,” she said.

Lan said her company has been trying to safeguard its customers, especially those stranded in Thailand due to the airport closure.

According to VNAT’s travel department, Vietravel will transport two of its three tourist groups from Thailand to Vietnam through Laos.

“When the airport becomes operational again, we will continue to organize trips for business travelers. As for tourist trips, we will have to consider whether the situation has improved.”

Red Tour Company announced that it canceled all its tours to Thailand over the next few days.

“We have explained to our customers the reason and offered three options to them – take back their money, choose a tour to another country or wait for the situation to return to normal to undertake the trip,” Nguyen Cong Hoan, the company’s deputy director, said.

Golden Tour Company said it too has called off all its Thailand tours since Wednesday.

The global financial meltdown and Thailand’s political upheavals have halved the number of clients wanting to tour Thailand, director Nguyen Tien Dung said.

“Only after the situation in Thailand becomes stable will we launch tours to the country again,” he said.

Many tourism companies said they would bring their customers home from Thailand by road if the protestors continue to besiege Suvarnabhumi.

They said they had hoped earlier that next month’s AFF Cup would help attract more Vietnamese tourists to Thailand but that the current tension would hurt their business.

VNAT warned travel agencies against taking tourists to Thailand at this time. It also told the agencies to monitor the situation in the kingdom carefully.

Protesters from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement seized control of Suvarnabhumi Tuesday night and blockaded Don Muang, the city’s other airport Thursday.

The Thai government has declared a state of emergency at the two airports, AFP quoted Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat as saying Thursday.

Wongsawat said the losses from the closure of Suvarnabhumi alone were set to top 100 billion baht (US$2.83 billion).

Governments throughout Southeast Asia Thursday mulled postponing a December ASEAN summit in Thailand.

The prime ministers of Laos, Cambodia and Thailand have asked the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) secretary general to consider postponing the meeting, Laos foreign ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy told AFP.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff