Destinations Facing Challenges in 2013

Sexual assault, floods, and political instability are the factors causing countries like India, the Philippines, Thailand... to grapple with the tourism puzzle.

1. India – sexual assault

According to statistics, there is a rape incident every 22 minutes in India, with the highest rate in the capital, New Delhi. Not only targeting Indian women, but sexual assault also occurs against foreign female tourists. Recently, an American female tourist was sexually assaulted by a truck driver and two accomplices for an hour on June 3 after hitchhiking in the town of Manali.

Prior to this, in March, a London tourist was sexually attacked by the hotel owner in the city of Agra, forcing her to jump from the third floor. This incident occurred shortly after a Swiss woman was gang-raped by 6 farmers while cycling with her husband during a trip to India. The increasing cases of sexual assault make tourists, especially women, apprehensive about visiting India.

2. Philippines – floods

Situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines annually faces around 19 typhoons. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, with winds reaching 300 km/h, hit the Philippines, marking one of the most destructive and record-breaking typhoons ever recorded. Haiyan instilled terror not only among the locals but also among tourists in the Philippines.

Cities and villages located 1 km from the coastline were submerged, leaving bodies floating and roads strewn with debris, trees uprooted. About 3,000 tourists were stranded at seaports in the Philippines due to suspended maritime transportation during the typhoon. Twelve airports, including those serving famous tourist islands like Palawan, Bohol, and Boracay, were also shut down.

3. Thailand – political unrest

Anti-government protests in Thailand unfolded since early November 2013. Some protests escalated into violence, resulting in numerous casualties. The political instability significantly impacted the social life of the locals, particularly the tourism sector.

Several countries advised their citizens to exercise caution when traveling to Thailand. The Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs had to invite ambassadors from various countries in Thailand to the Foreign Ministry to clarify the situation. According to Thai authorities, the protests led to a significant decrease of 350,000 foreign tourists to Thailand in the past November.

4. United States – government shutdown

Due to the failure to reach a budget agreement for the new fiscal year, the U.S. government was compelled to shut down on October 1. Consequently, numerous tourist attractions and entertainment venues in the U.S., including the Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo in Washington, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Alcatraz Island near San Francisco, and the Washington Monument, had to cease operations.

Although, after 2 days, many tourist spots like the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon National Park reopened, this left many tourists perplexed during their visit to the U.S. Many domestic and international tourists who arrived during this time did not have the holiday experience they had hoped for.

5. Cu Chi Tunnels – ticket refund

The Cu Chi Tunnels tourist area can accommodate an average of about 23,000 visitors per day, with a maximum capacity of up to 41,000 visitors. However, during the 7-day national holiday, coinciding with the best time to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, the influx of tourists caused congestion, paralyzing transportation for many miles.

The overcrowded situation led to more than two thousand tourists getting stuck, resulting in protests demanding ticket refunds. The Cu Chi Tunnels management had to apologize and refund ticket costs. Approximately 12,000 tickets were refunded, totaling nearly 13 billion VND (Vietnamese Dong) returned to tourists.

6. Laos – traffic accident

2013 witnessed numerous accidents in Laos, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of many tourists, including those from Vietnam. On April 21, a tour bus carrying over 30 Vietnamese tourists met a severe accident shortly after crossing the Cau Treo border gate (Ha Tinh) on a 7-day tour from Laos to Thailand.

Most recently, the ATR-72 aircraft of Lao Airlines faced an incident while flying from the capital Vientiane to the city of Pakse, Champasak province, on October 16. The entire crew of 5 and 44 passengers from 11 countries on the flight perished, including 2 Vietnamese passengers.

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Source: Travel Guide Mytour – As per Vnexpress