` Back To Normal' Message Not Getting Through

[george]

THE ANDAMAN REGION REBUILDS

`Back to normal' message not getting through

PHUKET: -- During his recent two-week visit to the UK, James Batt, a British hotelier who made Phuket his second home in 1995, was annoyed to see that nothing had been to alert British travellers to the fact that the resort island had fully recovered from the effects of the tsunami.

He became even more frustrated after holding discussions with travel agents who kept asking him why the Thai government was not doing anything to lure back British holidaymakers, the second largest European market for Phuket's tourism industry.

``Our travel partners asked us time and time again in every meeting we went into, `What is the TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) doing?' and I responded `I don't know','' said Mr Batt, managing director of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Plc, part of the Thai Wah group of companies.

Upon returning to his office in Thailand, he confirmed with the TAT's London office that no budget had been allocated for this purpose in the UK.

It is a different story altogether for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, which have spared no effort to lure back British tourists through extensive campaigns including TV commercials and posters on the London underground and in railway stations.

``Since the catastrophe took place, the awareness campaign for Thailand in the UK is invisible and I don't understand it. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are smarter, with huge support from their national tourist boards. That bothered me,'' said Mr Batt.

British arrivals to Phuket in the first four months of this year fell 62% from the same period last year to just 11,994. Using January-April 2004 as a base, the UK was the fourth largest market for Phuket with 31,845 arrivals, after Sweden (46,829), Japan (43,940), and Taiwan (41,929).

International arrivals at the Phuket international airport in the first four months of this year were down 69% to 128,574, according to figures compiled by the Immigration Bureau.

Mr Batt's experience illustrates one of the major problems that have hindered efforts to speedily revive the tourism industry in tsunami-affected countries.

Eam Thavornvongwongse, the chairman of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, said the financial impact on the Phuket economy was now running into the billions of baht.

The Thai government, especially the TAT, has been sharply criticised for not doing enough to rebuild the tourism industry. To date, less than 60% of the 48 billion baht in credit pledged by the government to revive tourism-related businesses in the affected areas has been disbursed.

``We (private sector) can do the `push' (through travel partners and agents with attractive offers). Then the trick is to create some pull from consumers. That is where the TAT comes in, where it has the awareness campaign. We can't do the pull on our own,'' Mr Batt said.

``In our campaign to bring people back, there is a limit to how much a farang can do in a foreign country to promote Thailand. I am not the best spokesman for Thailand. You are,'' he added, referring to local authorities.

Mr Batt, who has two decades of experience in the international hotel business, advocates a campaign that shows local people such as fishermen or hotel staff, asking people to come back by saying that Phuket is back to normal.

He also believes Thai Airways International should be offering more competitive airfares for its international flights to Thailand. He cites an example:

``In the Sydney market, you can now buy a package with an eight-night stay at the five-star Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket plus airfare on Qantas for A$1,329. If you buy through THAI's Royal Orchid Holidays it's $1,900.''

--Bangkok Post 2005-06-27