Tourists Return To The Beaches And Bars Of Phuket

[george]

Tourists return to the beaches and bars of Phuket

PHUKET: -- Foreign tourists frolicked Saturday in the gentle waves of the Andaman Sea, riding jet skis, posing for snapshots and sunbathing topless on the sand.

Such scenes were common on the resort island before a deadly tsunami hit six days earlier. But after the devastation, Aime Yodkaew, sweeping away debris, can't quite believe that, for some, life goes on as usual.

Just behind the relaxing foreigners is a store whose windows are gone, blasted out last Sunday by giant waves that killed more than 4,800 people in Thailand and more than 120,000 across southern Asia and in eastern Africa.

Along the beach, students from an international school were clearing up debris left by the waves and stuffing it into garbage bags.

Yodkaew, a Swede who has lived here for years with her Thai husband, said she felt angry at the tourists indulging in the sort of fun Phuket was famous for before the waves hit.

"I just figure if everyone uses about an hour of their holiday time (to help clean up), this would help a lot for the locals,'' she said.

But she acknowledged that the sooner more tourists return to the resort island's fabled beaches, the sooner her husband's sailboard and catamaran rental business will be able to start making money again.

Tourists are the lifeblood of this beautiful island in southern Thailand and this is the peak season for overseas visitors, Thailand's warm, dry season coinciding with the depth of northern winters.

The heart was torn out of the season by last Sunday's tsunamis, which killed 4,812 people in Thailand, more than half of them foreigners, and left more than 6,000 missing and feared dead.

Although much of Phuket escaped the waves' wrath with little damage, it is inextricably linked to one of the world's worst natural disasters. Its most famous beach, Patong, was one of the hardest hit and the island, with its airport and good roads, has become a regional hub for delivering relief to regions to the north that sustained far more damage and loss of life.

"Definitely less than 10 percent of hotel rooms in Phuket are closed,'' said John Everingham, who publishes Phuket Magazine, which gives tourists information about the island. "A lot of people haven't left the island, a lot of people who were there have just continued having their holidays.''

By contrast, another popular but much smaller island, Phi Phi, was wiped out almost entirely, he said. The worst loss of life was on the mainland north of Phuket, where more than 3,000 bodies already have been found.

The Finance Ministry estimated that the tsunamis will likely shave just 0.3 of a percentage point from gross domestic product growth in 2005.

"The Thai tourism industry hasn't been affected much by this event,'' Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak told reporters. "Foreign tourists may be scared for a short while, but I think in the next two to three months at most, their fears will fade away.''

Despite the devastation, some tourists are determined to make the most of their vacation.

On New Year's Eve, hundreds of people quietly clutched white roses and candles as they reflected on the tragedy at a vigil, but elsewhere on Phuket scantily clad women danced in nightclubs while Western tourists drank and partied to loud music.

Jinni Woolf, 26, of Denmark, was on Phuket when the waves hit and was still there Saturday, soaking up the sun on the beach.

"We just can't sit at the hotel and I also think it's very important, like people who have been in a motorcycle accident to ride again to overcome (their fear),'' Woolf said.

Charles Vickson, a Buddhist visiting from Hong Kong, said that at Phuket's Laguna resort, which was not badly affected by the waves, he saw bronzed European tourists return to sunbathing by the pool just minutes after the tsunamis.

"They laid out their towel ... and the lady, with her headphones on, resumed her sunbathing as if nothing had happened,'' he said.

--AP 2005-01-02

[george]

Phuket still on holiday radar

PHUKET: -- Australians are refusing to cancel holidays to Thailand's tsunami-devastated southern beach resort island of Phuket because they want to do what they can to help the locals struggling to cope with the loss of thousands of lives.

Big airlines and travel agents said Australian holidaymakers were determined to ignore Federal Government warnings about travel to the island, despite the increasing risk of typhoid, cholera, malaria and dengue.

Thai Airways International spokeswoman Sue Marr said many Australians were "######-bent" on getting to Phuket.

She was not surprised at the attitude of what she called the "diehards" because many regularly travelled to Phuket, had friends on the island and desperately wanted to support the locals.

She said that, although some Australians had cancelled trips to Thailand, most people still wanted to travel there this month.

The founder of Lonely Planet guides, Tony Wheeler, said he hoped tourists would not stay away too long from devastated areas such as Phuket because the livelihoods of thousands of locals depended on tourism. "I think people should be going back sooner rather than later."

Many of the tsunami-hit countries had areas that were unaffected but were now struggling because tourists were staying away, he said.

He urged people thinking of cancelling their trips to search the internet for the latest information on their destination, instead of accepting the Federal Government's travel warnings. "People who are on the spot are saying things are OK but the Government's saying no," Mr Wheeler said.

"The Government makes these sweeping statements and it's almost like 'Don't go to Asia'."

Qantas spokesman Michael Sharp said the airline's holidays branch had contacted hundreds of customers booked for Phuket to alert them to the Government's warning and ask if they wanted to cancel and get a refund or change their plans.

He said many had decided to travel to other destinations but some still planned to go to Phuket.

He said there had been more than 100 cancellations in the past week for flights to Thailand and Indonesia. "I expect a lot of people travelling in January will be waiting to see how the picture unfolds and deciding if they want to cancel completely and obtain a refund or change their travel plans," Mr Sharp said.

Flight Centre spokesman Haydn Long said several Australians had called wanting to go to Phuket to search for relatives and friends or to simply help.

"It's certainly not a lot of calls but there have been a few," he said.

Mr Long said people were still interested in travelling to Thailand, with coastal resorts such as Koh Samui and Pattaya almost full.

Cancellations for trips to Phuket and the other disaster zones were minimal.

"They tended to be very early on, in the first couple of days, but the overwhelming majority are looking to postpone or switch," Mr Long said.

"Christmas holidays come once a year and they want to get away somewhere."

Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation managing director Peter Harbison said Australians were intrepid travellers and the tsunami disaster would not stop them.

"Most Australians have made their plans to travel for this summer season anyway and, except for a few cancellations in the obvious hotspots, I would think most people are committed to travelling and will go ahead with their plans," he said.

"There's a high level of understanding in Australia of what the risks are when travelling.

"It's a risky world but Australians are pretty peripatetic."

STA Travel spokeswoman Lisa Goldsmith said the travel agency had received more than 300 calls from worried holidaymakers since the disaster and many had opted to travel to other areas.

Qantas, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines, Gulf Air, Cathay Pacific, STA Travel and Flight Centre will waive cancellation fees and offer refunds for trips booked to the disaster zones until January 31, and this date is likely to be extended.

Flight Centre's 24-hour help line is 1300 131 600. CGU Insurance has advised its customers affected by the disaster to contact its emergency line on (02) 9223 5533.

[igotworms]

I hope more people adopt this mentality. But I'm not sure it will be universal amongst all potential tourists.

[sonthaya]

I hope more people adopt this mentality.  But I'm not sure it will be universal amongst all potential tourists.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll agree with that, now let's get the Scandinavians back as well, the only problem there is that the big tuor operators won't start the flights again before the Danish foreign ministry withdraws their silly warning that Phuket is dangerous.

[Welsh John]

Just had a call from a mate telling me that based on the info given by the Expats that he & others will be coming to Phuket next month for 4 weeks.

They all had serious reservations about going but now feel confident & happy to be going.

Top marks to the Expats for their efforts!!!

[hotshot]

I hope more people adopt this mentality.  But I'm not sure it will be universal amongst all potential tourists.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'll agree with that, now let's get the Scandinavians back as well, the only problem there is that the big tuor operators won't start the flights again before the Danish foreign ministry withdraws their silly warning that Phuket is dangerous.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

MyTravel that covers the Scandinavian market will continue their flights to Phuket from 1st February! They estimate 1,000 new visitors to Phuket each week! Great!

[britmaveric]

Good news happy to see the tourists coming back to dear old Phuket.

[alohasiam]

Many of my friends back in Nederlands and Sweden canceled their trip to Phuket or to Thailand alltogether. And switched to Cancun or Rio. They still have the impression of negative energy after the massive death, not only in Phuket but the whole country as well. I think the sad impression and the negative ghostly energy from the massive death will not go away too soon. But I believe time will heal slowy and the vibrant impresion and positive energy will flow back again eventually.