Lankans avoid travel to crisis-hit Thailand
View(s):Sri Lankan travellers are seen avoiding Thailand owing to the political crisis there and Malaysia is becoming the next best option for leisure travel, industry officials said.
Suresh Mendis, CEO of Classic Travels, one of the largest outbound travel companies, said travel to Thailand has virtually come to a standstill in the past 3-4 weeks.
Thailand is the most popular destination for Sri Lankan leisure travellers and incentive groups, according to VMS Travels & Tours CEO Sasi Ganeshan.
Mr. Ganeshan said at least there are 3,000-4,000 departures per week to Bangkok from Colombo with at least 10 weekly flights operated by SriLankan Airlines, Thai Airways and Cathy Pacific.
However G.T. Jayaseelan, SriLankan Airlines Chief Marketing Officer, said they have not seen a drop in departures to Thailand. “But we see a drop in the Chinese going to Bangkok (from Beijing through SriLankan connections),” he said.
For several weeks, Thailand has been rocked by protests, some which have turned violent, demanding that the ruling party steps down. Parliamentary elections are to be held this month.