A travel warning has been issued for the Philippines but the travel industry does not anticipate much effect on its business.
Yesterday evening, the Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) issued a travel warning urging Macau residents not to travel to the Philippines for the time being, following China’s announcement last week claiming that the safety situation in the Southeast Asian country was worsening.
The Office cited the warning of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said that the Philippines police had proven that criminal gangs there were planning to attack the Chinese Embassy, Chinese-funded organisations and local malls. The Ministry warned all Chinese citizens that they should not go to the country during this period of time.
According to GGCT, no tour from Macau is currently in the Philippines. In addition, the Office had received only one inquiry so far but no request for assistance.
The warning by the Chinese Government was issued on Friday after an 18-year old Chinese teenager was kidnapped in Manila, the capital of the country; government agents arrested a gang of suspects whom they said planned to attack the Chinese embassy in the city.
The teenager, known as Li Peizhi, was kidnapped on Thursday by unidentified gunmen in Zamboanga Sibugay province’s Kabasalan township from a family-run store he worked in.
Not affecting Macau tours
Although the government issued the advisory warning, the territory’s travel industry believes that the warning will not overly affect Macau residents as their average interest in travelling to the Philippines is not high.
In fact, no travel agency has organised any tours to the Philippines in recent years, influenced by the Manila Hostage Crisis of 2010, according to the president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau, Andy Wu Keng Kuong. He told Business Daily that the attraction of the country itself is also another reason that not many Macau residents travel there.
In August 2010, a tourist bus carrying 20 tourists and a tour guide from Hong Kong and four locals was hijacked by a former Philippines National Police officer. The incident eventually led to the death of eight Hong Kong citizens.
A travel consultant for a local travel agency, Mars Kong, also told us that the Philippines is not a popular destination for Macau residents, who have many other options for short distance trips such as Thailand and Malaysia.
According to data released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau, some 190,910 passengers travelled between Macau and the Philippines last year, a year-on-year decline of 7.6 percent from 206,600 passengers in 2012.
In mid-August, the Philippine low-cost carrier AirAsia Zest, which operates flights between Macau and Manila, adjusted its daily schedule to three flights. The carrier announced on Tuesday, however, that they had temporarily suspended flights to and from Kalibo, a city in the northwest Philippines, Shanghai and Beijing.