Asia Escape Holidays owner Mason Adams has spoken of his shock after a Perth travel agent was stabbed to death on his firm’s famil to Phuket last night.
The agent was today named as Michelle Smith, from RAC Travel in Joondalup, who was on a trip organised by Asia Escape with nine other agents from Western Australia.
Michelle was knifed during an attempted bag snatch near the Katathani Beach Resort in Kata, an area regarded as safe and popular with families. Another agent suffered injuries to her arm.
Asia Escape product buyer Cherie Madson, who was leading the famil, is providing support for the shocked group, Adams told Travel Today.
“They are clearly all rattled but Cherie is a strong girl and handling it very well,” he said. “It is just terrible. It appears Michelle was walking back to the hotel in a safe area with another agent after dinner. It was not a dodgy back street. It is a totally random event and opportunistic. We are all shocked.
“Michelle was a beloved part of our industry and we send our condolences to everyone who knew her. She will be sorely missed.”
Adams angrily attacked the perpetrators, who sped off on a motorbike, who “give no thought” to the individuals involved or for the people of Phuket.
Australian Federation of Travel Agents chief executive Jayson Westbury said: “It is dreadful news. Devastating for the agent’s family but also for the tight knit travel agency community here in Australia. Our industry is very close and when a tragedy like this happens to one of our own it really hits home for all of us.”
