Hundreds of stranded travellers forced to seek accommodation outside S'pore
11/05/2010
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SINGAPORE: Hundreds of Europe-bound travellers who are stranded in Singapore have been forced to seek alternative accommodation across the Causeway and in other nearby countries.
Adding to the hotel room crunch, some inbound tour operators said it's getting harder to find hotel stays at reasonable rates. One inbound tour operator in Singapore has been helping some 1,000 customers find lodging as they wait for flights to Europe to resume. Most of the stranded travellers are from the UK, France and Germany, visiting Singapore on free-and-easy tours. But the lack of hotel rooms in Singapore is making things even tougher.
Judy Lum, group vice-president, Sales & Marketing, Tour East, said: "We had to either try and accommodate them in Malaysia, in Johor or Batam or Bintan Island. So we have contacted hotels in all these areas and over the weekend, I think we have bused over 800 passengers to Johor."
Tour operators said it's also difficult to secure rooms at decent rates.
Ms Lim added: "Some who managed to extend at the hotels that they are staying in came to us and gave us feedback that the hotels are charging them very high rates. International chains are a bit more compassionate."
Other inbound tour operators said that they were similarly affected. One of them described the situation as a "logistical nightmare" while another said that he had to stay up till 3am to find a solution for the stranded passengers.
Adrian Wong, destination manager for Singapore & Bintan, Pacific World Singapore, said: "A group of travellers from France were made to switch three hotels before they could settle on a suitable one. Others were forced to relocate to another hotel because the rate in their current hotel were far too expensive."
Some of the inbound operators said it will take some time to clear the backlog of travellers as more flights resume.
Others said that some stranded passengers have also opted to extend their holidays to nearby destinations such as Bintan while waiting for a flight confirmation.
But the incident is likely to have a small impact on their business as it's not the peak season for long haul travel to Singapore.
Some tour groups from Europe may have been cancelled but they said this is compensated by having those who extended their stay here.
The Singapore Tourism Board said it's closely monitoring the situation.
It said it is still too early to tell how the disruption of air travel will impact Singapore's tourist arrival figures for the second quarter this year. - CNA/vm
Adding to the hotel room crunch, some inbound tour operators said it's getting harder to find hotel stays at reasonable rates. One inbound tour operator in Singapore has been helping some 1,000 customers find lodging as they wait for flights to Europe to resume. Most of the stranded travellers are from the UK, France and Germany, visiting Singapore on free-and-easy tours. But the lack of hotel rooms in Singapore is making things even tougher.
Judy Lum, group vice-president, Sales & Marketing, Tour East, said: "We had to either try and accommodate them in Malaysia, in Johor or Batam or Bintan Island. So we have contacted hotels in all these areas and over the weekend, I think we have bused over 800 passengers to Johor."
Tour operators said it's also difficult to secure rooms at decent rates.
Ms Lim added: "Some who managed to extend at the hotels that they are staying in came to us and gave us feedback that the hotels are charging them very high rates. International chains are a bit more compassionate."
Other inbound tour operators said that they were similarly affected. One of them described the situation as a "logistical nightmare" while another said that he had to stay up till 3am to find a solution for the stranded passengers.
Adrian Wong, destination manager for Singapore & Bintan, Pacific World Singapore, said: "A group of travellers from France were made to switch three hotels before they could settle on a suitable one. Others were forced to relocate to another hotel because the rate in their current hotel were far too expensive."
Some of the inbound operators said it will take some time to clear the backlog of travellers as more flights resume.
Others said that some stranded passengers have also opted to extend their holidays to nearby destinations such as Bintan while waiting for a flight confirmation.
But the incident is likely to have a small impact on their business as it's not the peak season for long haul travel to Singapore.
Some tour groups from Europe may have been cancelled but they said this is compensated by having those who extended their stay here.
The Singapore Tourism Board said it's closely monitoring the situation.
It said it is still too early to tell how the disruption of air travel will impact Singapore's tourist arrival figures for the second quarter this year. - CNA/vm
Source: CNA
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Judul: Hundreds of stranded travellers forced to seek accommodation outside S'pore
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