The brief abduction of a Chinese actor who was trafficked into Myanmar to work in a scam camp has rattled travelers from a country that Thailand relies on for tourism.
Chartered flights have been canceled. Performances have been called off or postponed. Tour agencies have fielded requests from travelers who want to change their plans.
Chinese travelers have been scrapping trips to Thailand, frightened by the story of a Chinese actor who was abducted there, taken to Myanmar and forced to work in an online scam compound. The incident is a blow to Thailand’s tourism sector ahead of the peak Lunar New Year holiday at the end of this month, when many Chinese had been expected to visit.
The disappearance of the actor, Wang Xing, from the Thai border city of Mae Sot this month, has fanned public concerns about safety in Thailand. Mr. Wang was later rescued from a scam compound in Myanmar, but many travelers and event organizers were already rattled.
Eason Chan, a Hong Kong pop star, canceled a sold-out concert scheduled to take place next month in Bangkok’s Impact Arena, with organizers citing “safety concerns for Chinese citizens and fans around the world traveling to Thailand.” Zhao Benshan, a Chinese comedian known for his sketches in the Chinese state broadcaster’s Lunar New Year gala, also postponed an appearance in Bangkok next month.
Nuntaporn Komonsittivate, an executive at the low-cost carrier Thai Lion Air said on Wednesday that 20 percent of the company’s chartered flights between China and Thailand — serving routes to Chinese cities other than the six cities the airline normally operates in — have been canceled.
On Weibo, a Chinese social media outlet, people discussed travel refunds and whether Thailand was safe, using hashtags that rose in popularity on the platform. Travel agents in China said that they had received requests from travelers to cancel trips to Thailand or to change their destination.