BEIJING ¨C China¡¯s biggest online travel agency is offering a 30 percent discount on trips to Southeast Asia¡¯s beaches and malls. The Chinese aren¡¯t buying it.
¡°Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are traditionally the favorite tourism route for the Chinese,¡± said Jiang Haibin, a public affairs manager at International Ltd. ¡°This year, that route was affected a lot.¡±
Chinese travelers have been deterred by political violence and the mysterious disappearance almost six months ago of a Malaysia Airlines plane bound for Beijing. Territorial skirmishes with the Philippines and Vietnam have also hurt inter-government relations, while Singapore, a transit hub and stopover for those traveling around in the region, said China arrivals dropped 30 percent in the first six months of the year.
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