Patong Beach Needs Two Years To Recover

Patong beach needs two years to recover

PHUKET:-- Patong, a main tourist beach in Thailand's southern resort province of Phuket, will need at least two years to recover fully, according to local tourist officials.

More European tourists are, however, expected to visit Phuket between November and December this year, said the provincial governor, Udomsak Assavarangkul.

But a lot of work is needed before the paradise island is fully revived and able to attract tourists back to the resorts, according to the head of the

entertainment operators' club on the Patong Beach, Sompet Musophon.

Mr. Udomsak said many hotel rooms had been booked in advance.

But many tour companies had told the governor that European tourists were reluctant to visit Phuket because of their lingering sorrow over the 26 December tsunami disaster.

The province's deputy governor has been made responsible for coordinating assistance to the foreign private sector.

Mr. Sompet said the situation at Patong was still bad as a result of the falling number of tourists.

Workers in the entertainment industry have had to seek work elsewhere, for example, in Pattaya of the eastern Chonburi Province, Bangkok and Koh Samui in the southern Surat Thani Province.

--TNA 2005-03-19