PHUKET, Thailand (7 Jan 2005) -- Singapore Airlines has announced its SilkAir subsidiary will cut flights to hard-hit Phuket and Krabi due to lack of demand. As tourists shun tsunami-hit countries and switch to other destinations, Thai Airways and Air Asia, a Malaysia-based budget airline, have announced cancellation of daily flights from Singapore to Phuket. Phuket is losing $10m per day and over 20,000 people have lost their jobs as tourists cancel reservations and switch to Bali, the Philippines and other travel destinations unaffected by the tsunami that has killed over 160,000 people and left millions homeless. Despite efforts by local tourism officials to persuade tourists it's "business as usual" in Phuket, occupancy rates have dropped 80 percent and some hotel owners say it will take months to rebuild and reopen beachfront resorts. According to Jerry Heringa who manages the Impiana Phuket Cabana Resort, the 76-room hotel will not reopen for at least nine months. | | Thai rescue workers carry away a dead body from the devastated Thai island of Phi Phi. Heringa predicted tourists will not return until next winter. "It's the image people have. They see total destruction and when they see that, they stay away," he told reporters. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
