SINGAPORE, 17 December 2020: River expedition cruises in the Mekong Region should return by July 2021 according to Pandaw Cruises’ latest news update.
In response to questions from TTR Weekly, Pandaw Cruises’ sales and marketing manager, Sven Zika, said the river cruises would resume by July 2021 with sailings on Halong Bay and the Red River in Vietnam.
“The borders in Southeast Asia remain closed. That’s why we have decided to start with full energy and some enhanced experiences in July 2021,” he said.
Following the relaunch in Vietnam, river cruises will begin the southern Mekong Region cruising the Mekong River delta between Vietnam and Cambodia August 2021. Myanmar river cruises should restart by September 2021, and in Laos, on the upper Mekong River, the first cruise is scheduled for October 2021.
Back in August, Pandaw Cruises correctly read the Covid-19 situation when it warned customers in a blog that the “likelihood of our operations resuming in the near future is now very slim.”
Second and third waves around the world and serious otbreaks in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand ended any hope of a speedy recovery in the Mekong Region as far as international tourism is concerned.
At the same time, the river cruise operator pencilled in sailing dates for May 2021. That has now been revised again with the relaunch date set for Vietnam in July 2021
Having pioneered Asian river expeditions along the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar, 25 years ago the company has since expanded cruises to six rivers in six countries in the Mekong River and India.
Pandaw’s small exploration vessels accommodate between 10 to 60 guests depending on cabin layout. Itineraries feature the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers in Myanmar and the Mekong River in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
