Tour ops continue programming in Thailand after Myanmar quake

Travel and tourism operations in Thailand have resumed following the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck neighbouring Myanmar last week, according to tour operators.

Canadian company G Adventures does not operate trips in Myanmar, but confirmed with PAX on Monday (March 31) that all of its staff and travellers in the affected areas in nearby Thailand are safe.

“Our team in Thailand is monitoring the situation very closely and will make any itinerary adjustments, should they be necessary,” reads a company statement. “Our thoughts are with all of those affected by this tragic event.”

Intrepid Travel also doesn’t offer trips in Myanmar. The tour operator halted its programming there back in 2020 because it "strongly condemns" the ongoing violence and human rights abuses that have been reported there.

The most significant impacts of the earthquake were felt in Myanmar and, as a result, Intrepid’s trips in neighbouring Thailand continue to run.

“Intrepid has confirmed that all its staff and customers in Thailand are safe and accounted for,” the company wrote in a statement over the weekend.

Intrepid, meanwhile, has launched an emergency appeal through its not-for-profit, The Intrepid Foundation.

The earthquake caused widespread damage across the country and parts of Thailand, and all funds raised will go directly towards providing medical support and aid to communities through Intrepid’s local NGO partner in Myanmar. Click here to donate.

Emergency aid has rolled into Southeast Asia ever since the earthquake struck Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Thailand. 

Relief efforts are focused on Myanmar, where the estimated death toll rose to 1,644 by Sunday, reports say.

The Associated Press reports that the death toll from Friday's quake is expected to rise.  The number of injured is so far 3,408, while the estimated number of missing rose to 139 on Sunday.

The earthquake's epicentre was near Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city with 1.5 million people. In nearby Thailand, the death toll from the quake rose to 17.

“Great sadness”

Frightening accounts of tourists experiencing the earthquake have been making the rounds in media reports.

A Canadian visitor to Thailand, Sage Rich, was on the top floor of a three-storey market building in Chiang Mai when the earthquake began. 

As reported by the CBC, she was sitting on the floor as the building swayed and shook, "hoping that the roof didn't collapse on us."

Rich told the outlet that when she reached street level, she saw around 2,000 people in the street, "very distraught and shaken.

"The overall feeling in Thailand is great sadness. A lot of people from Myanmar are working in Thailand, so there are a lot of close connections, like family, even though it's a different country," she told CBC News on Sunday, speaking from the Thai island of Kos Samet.

The UN humanitarian affairs office said it has mobilized with other groups and $5 million U.S. has been allocated from a Central Emergency Response Fund for "life-saving assistance."

The earthquake struck around 12:50 local time (06:20 GMT) on Friday, about 10 km from the surface, making its effects at ground level more intense. 

A second earthquake struck 12 minutes later, with a magnitude of 6.4 and an epicentre 18 km south of Sagaing, the regional capital, which is near Mandalay.

Aftershocks have continued since. On Sunday a magnitude-5.1 tremor was recorded north-west of Mandalay.

Even Bangkok, Thailand's capital, which is 965 km away from Mandalay, felt shaking and saw significant damage from the quake – including the collapse of a skyscraper that was under construction.

International tourist arrivals in Thailand are expected to drop by 10 to 15 per cent, or more, in the next two weeks as hesitant travellers rethink their plans, the Thai Hotels Association said.

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