The Manila Times, December 18, 2006

CEBU CITY: Some 6,000 potential Korean tourists skipped Cebu this month due to expensive hotel rates and lack of rooms as the province prepared for hosting the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit which was later moved to early January, a local Korean community leader said.

Charlie Shin, general manager of the United Korean Community Association Inc., said many Korean tourists instead went to Phuket, Thailand, because they can’t be accommodated in Cebu.
Shin said the low turnout of Korean tourists in Cebu this month was unusual since December is a peak season for travelers. For the past two weeks in December, there were no significant bookings for Korean tourists, he said.

Shin said 6,000 to 7,000 Korean tourists redirected their bookings to Phuket in Thailand, Guam and Saipan instead of taking their vacations in Cebu.

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