The Manila hostage crisis prompted the government of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) to issue on Tuesday (Aug 24) a travel warning to local residents planning to visit the Philippines and those who are there to exercise due caution to their personal safety.
The SAR's Tourism Crisis Management Office had contacted 11 Macao residents who had joined a tour group to Cebu, the Philippines, via Hong Kong. The Office confirmed that they were safe and would continue with their itinerary and return on Friday.
It is expected that no Macao residents would visit the Philippines in tour groups in the near future as there is no scheduled tour groups to the country from Macao and Hong Kong, the Office also said.
A former Philippine police officer who claimed to be wronged by the authorities held a tourist bus with more than 20 Hong Kong tourists on board in Manila on Monday. Eight hostages were killed.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Tourism Administration had also reminded Chinese nationals to exercise caution in visiting the Philippines, saying those who are currently in the country must pay attention to security risks.
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