Seventeen Shanghai tourists are still in Bangkok, waiting for flights to carry them home, local tourism authorities said yesterday.

More than 60 tourists came back to the city yesterday, including those aboard a Dragon Airlines flight that took off from Thailand last night. It was expected to land in the city around midnight carrying 11 Shanghai tourists, said the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission.

Among those still stuck in Thailand, 14 were on a tour organized by the Shanghai Citic International Travel Co. The other three were a family traveling in Thailand independently, officials said.

Some tourists who had already booked holidays to Thailand during next year's Spring Festival have asked for a refund. Companies said Thailand-bound tourists during Spring Festival may be 40 percent lower than this year.

Although the safety of tourists was never threatened, the protests disrupted their schedules, agencies said.

(Shanghai Daily December 2, 2008)