PHUKET, Thailand (8 Jan 2005) -- Almost 50,000 people employed in Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga in Thailand are expected to lose their jobs in the wake of the tsunami. While many have seen their workplaces destroyed, employees at businesses still standing are being laid off after European and Scandinavian tour agencies have made mass cancellations at resorts in Krabi through to the end of January, said Krabi Chamber of Commerce vice president Pronchai Tantrasakul, the Nation reported Tuesday. Adding to the potential hurt, other tours have yet to confirm their bookings for February, capping off a disastrous and heartbreaking high-tourist season, he said. The tsunami damaged about 2,000 of Krabi's 8,000 hotel rooms, and with tourists staying away, most of the remaining rooms sit empty. If tourism fails to recover next month, Pronchai said the entire Krabi hotel and resort industry will lay off some 20,000 employees. In Phuket, hotel occupancy has fallen to less than 10 percent, according to Phuket Tourist Association director Jirachai Amornpairoj. If tourists fail to show up in a month, its tourism workers will be laid off. | | Thai rescue workers carry away another dead body... The 50 Khao Lak hotels and resorts hurt by the tidal wave have suspended operations and told their 7,000 employees to return after they have rebuilt, said Pichai Nilthonkham, a representative of the Phang Nga hotel industry. SOURCE - UPI |
