20th August 2022 – (Hong Kong) Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and other places in South East Asia have recently become high-risk areas where Hong Kong residents and Taiwanese residents were trapped in forced labour camps. The incident has also hit the tourism industry, which has just taken a breather due to the relaxation of epidemic prevention measures.
Local travel agencies including WWPKG Holdings reported a sharp drop in enquiries with regards to group tours to Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and even Singapore due to the ongoing fear of instability in the region. Many travellers who have booked their trips for September have expressed their hesitation to continue with their trips. Tourism Authority of Thailand responded that the Thai authorities are investigating the incident, but it has not received any information so far.
Travellers to Thailand are advised not to go out at night alone at night and avoid the northern region of Thailand. Some local travel agencies have even contemplated to suspend tours to South East Asia at present. Local tour operators hope that the Hong Kong government will clearly issue a travel alert if it considers there is an obvious threat, so that the industry, airline companies, hotels, etc. can handle refunds and other arrangements in accordance with the existing mechanism.