Travel agency cancels Middle East tours until Mar 10

A local travel agency on Tuesday said it cancelled all tours to the Middle East until March 10, due to the ongoing conflict in the region. Yuen Chun-ning, chief executive of WWPKG told an RTHK programme that 20 Hong Kong travellers from two tour groups in Dubai will likely be stranded, even though they were supposed to be back by Thursday. But he said there was good news for the travellers, who had earlier been confined to their hotels. "There was good news because Dubai announced yesterday that they can go out for sightseeing and it is safe to go to the city centre today. This was better than during Saturday evening to Monday morning when they could not go out and had to stay indoors," he said. Many of them are concerned about when they can return home, given that many of the airports in the Middle East remain closed. He said that depending on the situation, the agency will decide whether or not to call off more tours after March 10. It has also allowed travellers who have booked Middle East tours scheduled for the Easter holiday to opt for other destinations, Yuen added. Wing On Travel told RTHK that 22 Hong Kong travellers taking part in their tour in Dubai were also stranded. But they did not comment on whether they would cancel upcoming Middle East tours. Speaking on Commercial Radio, a Hongkonger who is currently stranded in Dubai said that he had seen missiles flying from afar, and received missile alerts twice over the weekend asking people to stay indoors. He said malls were later operating as usual, even though there were fewer people on the streets. Edited by Aaron Tam