KOTA KINABALU: Travel agents in Sabah will continue to receive cancellations or deferment of traveling plans from Japan until the crisis affecting the country is over.
It will take time for the Japanese nation to recover and at the moment, the mood of its citizens to travel is subdued, said Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents ( MATTA) Sabah Chapter chairman KL Tan.
However, tourism players in the state should not be overly concerned about the Japanese tourists canceling or rescheduling their visit to Sabah.
Instead, they should pool their resources together to help the disaster-struck country, Tan said when asked if the number of Japanese visiting Sabah had been affected by the earthquake-tsunami disaster which hit the country last week.
Tan when contacted yesterday, said there had been cancellations of tours to Sabah by Japanese tourists.
“There are some like specialized groups and incentive groups who have deferred their traveling plans,” he said.
On outbound tours to Japan, Tan said some travel agents in Japan had started offering refunds to their counterparts here who have booked tours with them.