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Several Shanghai travel agencies are receiving numerous cancellations on planned trips to Indonesia.
Shanghai Airlines Tours International Co. reported that seven people called and canceled their bookings in a tour group scheduled to leave the city yesterday for a Bali trip because of the Tuesday bombing in the Indonesian capital, although 34 people went ahead yesterday on the tour that included a one-night stay in Jakarta.
A 20-member group from Jin Jiang Tours Ltd. was also canceled because of the explosion, confirmed Hao Min, manager of the company's Asia department.
"It seemed that the shadow of the Bali bombing had almost disappeared and the number of tourists for Indonesia was growing rapidly after SARS, but the scene has deteriorated again," said Li Ming of Shanghai Airlines Tours International.
He said the attractive price of a four-night trip to Bali, a popular beach resort in Indonesia, was chopped from 5,700 yuan (US$686.7) to 4,700 yuan.
"Another reason for the deal is that it was still a new route to those interested in trips to Southeast Asia," Li added.
It is also a major blow to the Garuda Indonesia Shanghai office which opened last October, immediately following the Bali bombing tragedy that killed 202 people, including many foreign tourists.
The airline provided steep discounts on air fares, resulting in cheap travel packages. But the successful promotion was discouraged by Tuesday's bombing.
"We are discussing new strategies currently to respond to the possible slump in tourist numbers," said Larm Kang Cheung, sales manager of the travel agency, yesterday.
(eastday.com August 8, 2003)
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