Singaporeans' travel plans in limbo since virus outbreak
They are cancelling trips or taking extra precautions due to coronavirus outbreak
Travel plans for some Singaporeans are in limbo following the coronavirus outbreak.
The New Paper spoke to 10 people who had planned trips for February and in March. Of the 10, two have cancelled their trips to Taiwan and Thailand, respectively, suffering costly financial losses.
Miss Nicole Hui, 24, has cancelled her five-day family holiday to Taiwan. They were supposed to depart on Thursday next week.
Miss Hui told The New Paper: "Even though Taiwan has fewer confirmed cases than Singapore, worrying about getting the virus is only part of the reason we cancelled."
She added: "Another concern my parents had was the possibility that we might be denied entry back into Singapore.
"We can't predict this as they might make the announcement when we are already in Taiwan as the situation is fluid now."
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President of travel fair Travel Revolution, Ms Kay Swee Pin, said: "Everything is uncertain now. As long as there is any uncertainty, I am confident that Singaporeans won't take that risk to travel."
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that the outbreak will affect Singapore's economy, especially since China is a major source of tourism and it is also Singapore's largest trading partner.
He said: "Tourism from other sources will also tail off because everybody will be cautious and will stay at home and avoid travel."
Tour guide William Wong, 59, who has been in business for 17 years, said he receives an average of six groups of 30 tourists each every month. However, since the outbreak, he has had only two groups.
While there is no denying that the tourism sector has been badly hit, Dr Chia Shi-Lu, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, said there is no risk in travelling as long as there is no travel advisory against the country.
Speaking to TNP, Dr Chia said: "As long as there is no evidence of community spread, there is no risk for Singaporeans to travel."
Travellers such as Miss Siti Suhailah, 24, who will be extending her one-week business trip to Orlando next week for eight days, said while she will be taking extra precautions, she will not be cancelling her $10,000 holiday.
Speaking to TNP on Monday, the senior executive said: "I was so excited when planning this trip with my colleague. But after news of the virus broke, all that excitement turned to worry. We wanted to buy tickets to Disneyland but decided against it as we wanted to stay away from crowded areas."
Ms Siti also fears that she will be denied entry into the US as the number of cases in Singapore has risen.
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