Almost 300 Taiwanese tourists were yesterday stranded in Bali, Indonesia, after the airport was shut down for 24 hours due to volcanic activity on Mount Agung.
Tourism Bureau data showed that there were 275 tourists in 17 Taiwanese tour groups on the island.
The tour groups were organized by a number of local travel agencies, including Lion Travel Service Co (雄獅旅行社), South East Travel Service (東南旅行社), Sunshine Travel Service Co (雙向國際旅行社), Richmond International Travel and Tours (山富國際), Life Tour (五福旅遊), Star Travel (燦星國際), Hsi Hung Travel Service (喜鴻旅行社) and Fest Tour (慶澤旅行社), the bureau said.
Tourists in the groups are all safe, it said.
An estimated 37 tour groups — 521 tourists in total — are scheduled to leave for Bali in the next few days, but five of the groups — 54 tourists — have canceled their trips, it said.
The bureau has also informed all travel agencies that tour guides leading tours in Bali must monitor the latest information published by the Indonesian government, adding that they should ensure the safety of the tourists by keeping away from areas that could be affected by volcanic activity.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday raised its travel alert for Bali to orange, meaning that visitors should be extremely cautious and avoid traveling to the island unless it is absolutely necessary.
The ministry cited a notice published by the Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management, which has changed the volcano observatory notice for aviation to red, the highest alert.
The notice said that I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport was to be closed for 24 hours, starting yesterday.
Taiwanese tourists who are scheduled to travel to Bali are advised to keep in contact with their airlines and monitor flight information, the ministry said.
Because the ministry has issued an orange alert for Bali, the bureau said in a statement last night that tourists are entitled to invoke Article 15 on the standardized contract and seek refunds from travel agencies.
Travel agencies should refund the fees upon request after deducting non-refundable fees and a maximum 5 percent processing charge, the bureau said.
In addition to seeking refunds from travel agencies, travelers could negotiate with travel agencies on the possibility of postponing their trip or switching to a tour group in a different destination, the bureau said.
China Airlines (中華航空) yesterday canceled all flights to and from Bali from yesterday to tomorrow.
EVA Airways (長榮航空) canceled its flights to and from Bali yesterday.
Whether flights to and from Bali would be canceled today depends on the Indonesian government, the airline said.
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