Andaman Diving Business Grows

[george]

Andaman diving business grows despite tsunami

PHUKET: -- The diving industry in Thailand's Andaman coastal provinces of Phuket and Phang-Nga not only has stayed afloat, but it continues to grow--despite the tsunami which brough death and destruction to the tropical paradise in December 2004, according to Phuket's Ecological Tourism Association president Pakdi Krutanang.

After the strike of the tidal waves the two resort provinces remain the popular diving destinations for tourists worldwide. Currently, at least 500 divers daily visit coastal region's undersea world of rich marine life in the waters comprising the Andaman coast in the provinces, Mrs. Pakdi said.

In Phuket, there are now 80 to 100 companies involved in the diving business, including providing diving instruction courses for undersea world lovers and commercial diving-related products and services.

The diving business here is estimated to have generated a total Bt1 billion (US$25 million) or an average of Bt3-10 million (US$75,000-US$250,000) for each operator, she said.

Mrs. Pakdi said she believed that the diving industry in the two provinces will continue to grow at a level comparable to, or even better than, that of the renowned diving-destination Maldive Islands.

She said Thailand's Andaman coastal provinces could gain an edge over the Maldives since they serve tourists with varied additional recreational activities and are not limited to diving.

Each dive has a reasonable cost, she said, of around Bt2,500-4,500 (about US$60-110), while tourists have no other options to enjoy except diving when traveling to the Maldives.

--TNA 2006-04-18

[sua yai]

A friend who's a divemaster returned from a great Songkran holiday down in Khao Lak two days ago. It was his first time there and he was impressed at how quickly the resort had recovered from the tsunami, compared to how he was expecting it. The diving was good off the Similan and Surin Islands, however, he had some reservations about how busy it was.

Am I allowed to link his article from a dive site here? If so, I will. It's on the net already.