Hong Kong tourists lured back to Thailand with cheap deals
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Hong Kong - Hong Kong tour operators unveiled cheap tours to Thailand Thursday in a bid to lure tourists back to the flood-hit country.
The deals were being offered in anticipation of the lifting of the Hong Kong government's month-long red alert against travel imposed on Bangkok because of its floods and their aftermath.
They include "buy two, get one free" deals that put prices at around 1,600 Hong Kong dollars (205 US dollars) per person for a five-day package including flights and hotels to Bangkok or the beach resort city of Pattaya.
The red alert, which advises against all non-essential travel, was imposed as floodwaters threatened the capital.
It has led to the cancellation of about 150 tours involving more than 3,000 people from Hong Kong, an important short-haul market for Thailand.
The flooding began affecting northern Thailand in July. It has inundated the northern, eastern and western outskirts of Bangkok since October, but flood barriers have kept the central parts of the capital dry. The slowly moving floodwaters were not expected to recede until the New Year.
The Hong Thai Travel Service is one of the companies offering cheap packages jointly with Thai Airways, which has launched a campaign called "Thailand, Fly Again."
The cheap deals would be offered to the first 800 people who book tours from December 1-15 to Bangkok or Pattaya.
Another company, Wing On Travel, is offering a "buy one, get the second half-price" deal.
