Want China Tiomes
Date: 2015-06-10
By: Chen Yi-chun and Staff Reporter

Around 20% of mainland Chinese tourists have canceled their planned trips to South Korea

Tourists wear face masks as they go sightseeing in downtown Seoul, June 8. (File photo/Xinhua)

due to the outbreak of the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the country, a Chinese travel agent said Monday. It is estimated that about 100,000 tourists from China will cancel their travel plans to South Korea in June.

A similar 20% of tourists from Hong Kong and Taiwan have canceled trips to South Korea, with up to 50% of them choosing to fly to other destinations instead, according to the travel agent.

Tourism from Liaoning and Shandong, the two Chinese provinces closest to South Korea, has been strongly hit, as well as from the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, with the number of tourists planning to visit the country cut by 50% or even down to zero, according to reports from different local travel agents.     [FULL  STORY]