Tourism sector calls for drive to pull back visitors to Phuket

BANGKOK: -- Tourism officials on Thailand's southern island of Phuket today called on the government to launch a marketing offensive to pull visitors back to the Andaman coast in the wake of last week's tsunamis, urging a particular focus on the Chinese market.

Mr. Phattanaphong Ekwanich, President of the Phuket Tourism Business Association, confirmed today that tourism on Kata, Karon and Patong Beaches in Phuket was beginning to return to normal, following the devastation caused last week when the massive tsunamis crashed into the shoreline.

Noting that only around 10 percent of the island's 34,000 hotel rooms had been affected by the tsunami, he expressed confidence that most of the damage could be repaired over the next 3-4 weeks.

Nonetheless, he stressed that an urgent marketing offensive was needed to see a complete revival of the island's tourism sector.

In particular, he said, the government should focus its attentions on the domestic and Chinese markets, as normally during the Chinese New Year demand for hotel rooms on the island exceeded supply.

"The government will need to use a huge lump sum in its publicity offensive, and will need to restore tourism destinations on the Andaman coast", Mr. Phattanaphong said.

On 4 January tourism operators will meet with officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to draw up plans to launch special package tours to encourage domestic and foreign tourists to return to Phuket and the nearby Krabi Province.

--TNA 2005-01-01

I agree that the TAT needs to let the world know that Phuket and Krabi area are ready to welcome tourists, they should at least wait until they have the all the dead buried.

Brilliant point.

Be honest - I think it would be lovely of tourists maybe sacrificing a 1-2 days to help out disaster recovery efforts. If everyone pitched in it would go a long way of making things right again.