Floods in parts of Thailand and Indonesia’s earthquake, tsunami and volcano eruption, are expected to suppress demand out of Singapore for these destinations.
While travel agents said no cancellations had been made so far, they believed Singaporeans might hold back on forward bookings.
AD Travel general manager, Joe Lim, said enquiries for both destinations had slowed.
“Travelers are worried that the problems will spread. Our 2010 targets for Thailand and Indonesia will be affected, and we hope bookings for other destinations will make up for the shortfall.” He added that much interest appears to have been diverted to Hong Kong.
CTC Travel senior vice president (marketing & PR), Alicia Seah, said those who were booking for the Chinese New Year holidays early next year might be cautious about buying trips to Thailand and Indonesia.
However, she noted that Singaporeans were not backing out of these destinations for now, as popular areas had escaped unscathed from the natural disasters.
CTC Travel has about 30 customers in Bangkok and Indonesia, mostly in Bali and Surabaya, and 100 more are due to leave for these destinations next week, while Chan Brothers yesterday received four new bookings for Bangkok.
Chan Brothers spokesperson Ivy Tan said: “Singaporeans can still head to Phuket, Krabi, Chiang Mai or Bali this year end as they are unaffected by current events.
