VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese travel firms have canceled football tours to Phuket, Thailand because of increased airfares and fears of a possible riot.

Vietnamese football fans may be absent from AFF Cup 2008.

Nguyen Tien Dat, Business Manager of Transviet, said many Vietnamese football fans booked tours to Bangkok, Thailand to watch the AFF Cup but they canceled the tour as knowing that the event will be moved to Phuket and because of worry about possible rioting in Thailand.

Travel firms also do not want to offer football tours to Phuket, though Phuket is the most famous island for tourism in Thailand. “The tour to Phuket may cost over US $500-600 per person and this price is too high. Moreover, demonstrations may spread to this city so we have to cancel football tours,” explained Dat.

Previously, Saigontourist organized many tours for football fans to the AFF Cup but this year, the company canceled many tours to Thailand in December. According to Saigontourist’s representative, owing to high cost and lack of football tickets, it did not organize tours to Phuket.

Vietravel had 40 visitors registered for football tours to Thailand but it also canceled the tours when the AFF Cup was moved to Phuket. Hong Gai Tourist cancelled all tours of around 200 visitors to Thailand this December.

Vietran Tour’s Nguyen Thi Huyen said normally flights to Phuket have to transit in Bangkok but after two airports in Bangkok were paralyzed by protestors, flights would have to transit at Singapore or Malaysia, which makes the airfare price go up by at least US $200 a person. Moreover, passengers will have to fly at night or in the early morning.

The change of place for the AFF Cup and travel firms’ cancellation of tours to Thailand has caused a lot of difficulties for football fans and relatives of Vietnamese players. Some have directly booked tickets to Phuket with airlines.

(Source: VNE)