Mumbai terror and Thailand protests fail to deter UK travelers

EDINBURGH – The recent Mumbai terrorist attacks, which left at least 195 dead, and Thailand’s political protests, which have led to a temporary state of emergency, have failed to deter travelers, said flight search engine Skyscanner (http://www.Skyscanner.net).

Despite the FCO’s advice to avoid all but essential travel to Mumbai, there has been no significant reduction in the amount of flight search traffic on Skyscanner to the Indian city. After minor rescheduling, all major airlines are still flying to and from Mumbai with no further disruption expected.

Barry Smith, co-founder and business director of Skyscanner speculated on the resilience of the UK-India travel connection:

“India is a very popular winter and spring destination, and despite the recent attacks, it seems UK travelers are not being deterred from visiting Mumbai or India in general. Some travel agencies and hoteliers have reported cancellations, and we would advise people to make their own travel decisions based on the latest advice from the British FCO, local news sources and their own common sense.”

Bangkok’s two main airports are still closed, stranding thousands of travelers, but several airlines have been able to arrange flights and transfers to and from other airports in the country. Despite the situation, the country is displaying no major drop in flight search volumes. Barry Smith commented:

“Thailand is massively popular with UK travelers and typically a very safe place to visit. So far, flight search traffic for UK-Bangkok routes is normal for this time of year. The Thai tourism authorities are warning of a drop in visitors, but we haven’t seen it yet. As with India, travelers are unlikely to be deterred for long.”

Typically, areas affected by terrorism or political unrest do see a short-term reduction in visitors, but tend to recover quickly as long as incidents are not sustained.