Southern Tourism Could Take Two Years To Recover

[george]

Southern tourism could take two years to recover

BANGKOK: -- As tourism associations rushed to prepare accommodation in Bangkok yesterday for foreign visitors fleeing the disaster-hit South, tourism organizations were forecasting that it could take two years for the southern region's tourism sector to recover from Sunday's devastating tidal wave attack.

Speaking at a hastily-convened meeting of the Thai Tourism Industry Association yesterday, the association's vice president, Mr. Prakit Chin-amornphong said that the association had prepared over 1,000 hotel beds in Bangkok and the suburbs to accommodate tourists left stranded by the southern disaster.

"Some hotels are offering free rooms, and others are offering special prices", he said.

"The association needs rooms from 27-30 December to help the tourists travelling from the provinces afflicted by the tidal waves", he said.

A large number of hotels in the southern region were destroyed when massive tidal waves crashed into the southern coasts on Sunday, with hotels on Koh Phi Phi, Phuket and Khao Lak particularly hard hit.

While promising some form of help for the affected hotels, Mr. Prakit said that tourists came first.

"Right now we have to think first about solving the short-term problem of helping the tourists affected by this incident", he said.

Miss Maslin Sukphattananarakul, president of the Domestic Tourism Business Association, told reporters that nearly all accommodation bookings in the afflicted provinces had already been cancelled.

Predicting that it would take two years of repair work for the tourism sector in the region to revive, she called for tour companies to put the needs of their customers first, despite the inevitable impact on their business operations.

--TNA 2004-12-28

[Foggy Bottom]

Good to see common sense prevailing - I'm told Thailand doesn't have an ABTA / IATA style insurance scheme for stranded tourists, therefore the local tourism associations working together is much welcomed in a country often criticised for self-centred planning and thinking (in business & financial situations).

If the nation is to meet the government's growth targets, the proposed marketing drive must now be shifted away from the western coast and spread across the other regions that were not affected, and it needs to be done quickly.

I also hope the authorities recognise the opportunity here for planned and co-ordinated upgrading of those towns and resorts that were affected - a cohesive effort to bring them up to par could prove to yield unexpected bonuses in the future.

Empathy & best wishes to all those affected on the ground, and condolances to the families of all those who lost loved ones.

[phuketrichard]

Hi;

I live in kamala and we were hit very hard, Currently no restaurnats remain here. The beach, beach road and even the main road all shops were gutted. Many people were swept out to sea and even today morte bodies are being found in the wreckage. It is devastating.

Not only for the toursits vacationing here but for all the locals who owned shops/stalls/restaurnats and such along the beach and have lost everything with little hope for recupertaing this season.

I still expect to see small places open with in a few weeks thou

[mr_lob]

Just been out to Koh Phi Phi to bring some thai friends back who have shops there - there are some areas which have not come off so bad but the centre of Tonsai Town is utterly devastated. Never seen anything like it - bodies being dragged in by the navy and stacked on the beach

[ThaiLover1]

Just been out to Koh Phi Phi to bring some thai friends back who have shops there - there are some areas which have not come off so bad but the centre of Tonsai Town is utterly devastated. Never seen anything like it ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Any pictures from Tonsai Town of your visit to Phi Phi?