Covid closures sink Pandaw Cruises
Asia river cruise operator Pandaw Cruises is no more.
It has been forced to close due to the prolonged halt in operations with much of Southeast Asia still closed to tourism.
It cancelled all Asian river cruises.
Its key Mekong cruises have been iseverely mpacted by the border closures in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, and the political situation in Myanmar has further affected the business.
Despite having a good volume of forward bookings for a 2022 restart, the company has been unable to secure funding.
It had ‘no alternative but to cease its river cruise operations’ as it cannot fund layup operations of the seventeen ships for another year, or pay for essential refurbishments.
"This is a very sad moment for me, our crews and clients. It marks the end of an era for all of us after twenty-five years of real adventure," said Pandaw founder Paul Strachan.
"We are heartbroken for our three hundred plus crew members and shoreside personnel who have stood by Pandaw and were hoping to get going again next year."
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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