Korean crash victims bought bottom basement
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Chosu reported today that the Korean victims of the doomed PNT Air charter each paid W599,000 (US$640) for what was to be a six-day/four-night Cambodia trip. Similar packages can be had for half, it said.
The Ministry of Culture & Tourism says the number of Koreans travelling to Southeast Asia more than doubled from 3.32 million in 2000 to 7.32 million in 2005. During the same period, trips to Cambodia jumped 15-fold from 2,046 to 33,072.
The competition for the fast-rising number of tourists has lit the fuse on a string of bargain-basement deals. According to the report, agencies offering rock-bottom prices “sometimes contract with transportation companies that use older buses or planes, and that is becoming a threat to the safety of tourists.”
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, 300 Koreans cancelled trips to Cambodia with Hanatour Service, the agency that put the tourists on the doomed plane, but many who booked with other companies left on schedule.
Tourism insiders warn that more fatal accidents could occur as agencies are booking cheap airlines to lower their costs. “Many of the discount packages to Southeast Asia that are currently on sale are on airplanes that are in poor condition,” a Korean tourism official said.
“Because there’s a lack of substitute planes, only one or two planes transport all the passengers, and in some cases small airlines with just a few years of domestic flying experience are operating on international routes.”
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