Two tour companies involved in arranging tragic trip

PETALING JAYA: Two tour companies were involved in arranging the trip for 28 Chinese nationals who had taken the catamaran to Pulau Mengalum which capsized on Saturday.

Twenty-three of them were handled by Chau Nature Tours and Travel Sdn Bhd while another five were under Golden Sailing Sdn Bhd.

State Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming said the tourists were free independent travellers (FIT) who arranged for their stay and tours through various travel websites.

Pang said both companies were then assigned to make the various local travel arrangements for the tourists.

He said the catamaran was operated by Golden Sailing and it was normal practice for tour companies to take over the handling of tourists from other firms.

Twelve of tourists had booked the day tour to Pulau Mengalum via a Chinese online tour agent.

Official China’s news agency Xinhua reported that 12 of the tourists had booked the tour through DoDoTour which collaborated with a local tour operator in Sabah.

A representative from DoDoTour, which was set up in 2012, said the 12 Chinese tourists had provided their names, passport numbers, telephone numbers and other details but did not include contact details of their next-of-kin.

DoDoTour has removed its tour package to Pulau Mengalam on popular Chinese online shopping site Taobao.com.

However, information about the tour, priced at RMB249 (RM160), is still available on Alitrip, the travel booking website of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

Positive reviews about the tour can be found on Alitrip, with previous tourists praising the beautiful sights, delicious seafood and professional Chinese-speaking tour guide.

In fact, the website even received a rating of 4.7 out of 5 from 1,850 reviewers.

An assistant to the Chinese consul-general based in Kota Kinabalu said his office would focus its effort in helping the survivors and the families of those affected.

It has also set up a hotline, 08-839 3521, available from 9am to 6pm for families of the victims.

Outside of office hours, they are advised to call 014-985 7312 or the Foreign Ministry of China hotlines 0086-10-12308 or 0086-10-59913991.