Travelers a little edgy over abductions

Stacy Shi

The job scams that caught a mainland actor in their web have slightly dampened Hongkongers' enthusiasm to travel to Thailand, particularly among individuals planning independent tours, tourism leaders said.

Steve Huen Kwok-chuen, executive director of EGL Tours, told The Standard that no requests to withdraw from tour members to Thailand have been received due to the binding nature of signed contracts and the potential canceling fees.

But Huen added the incident has raised awareness of risks of traveling to the popular Southeast Asian country known for tropical beaches, royal palaces and ancient ruins - and this will affect individual tours in the short term.

"But this may also increase the number of individuals participating in group tours, which are more secure due to the presence of established local networks, or travelers could switch to other tropical regions such as Hainan, Singapore or Malaysia."

WWPKG executive director Yuen Chun-ning said one or two groups of individual travelers had switched to group tours while no group tour members had canceled.

"WWPKG will continue selling Thailand tour products, but reducing related packages will depend on the market response," Yuen added.

However, given the limitations of travel companies in providing a similar level of protection as law enforcement, Huen advised travelers to exercise caution and be vigilant against potential exploitation.

Chinese actor Wang Xing returned to the mainland on Saturday after being taken to Myanmar via Thailand and going missing for four days. Wang posted on social media that he felt grateful to the Chinese government and everyone who helped him "when he was about to give up."

Another four mainlanders were also rescued following Wang's rescue.

Two men aged 27 and 36 waiting for a local chartered vehicle were spotted and rescued by a Thai operations team on patrol at the Thailand-Myanmar border last Thursday. Another two women aged 26 and 29 lured to the fraud factories last month were also confirmed to have returned home safely last week.

Meanwhile, Thailand's minister of digital economy and society, Prasert Chandraruangthong, last week announced an emergency decree to combat scams to be enacted this month.

The decree requires all financial organizations and mobile communications operators to strengthen the protection of clients and be responsible for compensation if they are scammed.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com