PHUKET, Thailand (10 July 2005) -- Along the famous white sands of Phuket's Patong beach, stray dogs outnumber tourists, who six months after the tsunami are still staying away from the once packed shore. Although tourism officials in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives are cautiously optimistic about the future, visitors remain reluctant to visit Thailand's beaches, where half the tsunami victims are believed to be foreign holidaymakers. Thai authorities admit tourism has been slower to rebound than they had hoped, and industry officials say they expect the coming peak travel season starting in November to be weaker than normal, with a full recovery possible by late 2006. Thailand's national economy has absorbed the shock even as it sputters on high oil prices, but tsunami-hit provinces are paying a high price. Official numbers for the first quarter of the year paint a dire picture: arrivals of Swedes and Britons, who usually visit in greater numbers than other nationalities, are down by 67 percent over the same period last year. German tourists have dropped off by 74 percent and French 70 percent. Asian tourists are also staying away: arrivals of South Koreans are down by 64 percent and Japanese by 86 percent. "This June we have an average occupancy rate of less than 20 percent, compared to nearly 60 percent last year in the provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi" along the Andaman coast, says Napasorn Kakai, assistant director at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in Phuket. In Phuket and Krabi, nearly 90 percent of hotels have reopened, but in Phang Nga -- which witnessed the majority of Thailand's 5,400 fatalities -- only 38 percent are back in business. The province which six months ago was home to at least 40 five-star hotels now has only one, says deputy governor Jit Phasompong. "We have 40 percent of bookings for the next peak season starting in November," says TAT's Napasorn, referring to travel agent bookings that are usually confirmed by October. "We should have 80 percent. It means the tsunami is still a big disaster for the tourism industry," she says. The vice president of the Phuket Tourist Association, Kitti Phatanachinda, says the numbers make grim reading for the island that normally welcomes about one third of Thailand's tourists, representing some two billion dollars a year in earnings. Only 10 percent of hotels have been hit, but the whole island is dying," he says, pointing out that "90 percent of businesses on the island are linked to tourism." Twenty airlines flew to Phuket before the tsunami, against eight now, six months since the disaster killed more than 220,000 people around the Indian Ocean. "Twenty percent of businesses have closed," says Kitti, referring to the island's hotels, restaurants, cafes or tour companies. "Most hotels here are employing their staff only 25 or 50 percent of the normal time," with occupancy rates around 15 percent. The rest of the region is a mixed bag. Indian tourism officials expect "roughly the same" number of arrivals as last year. "Contrary to the general perception, the flow of tourists into India has been quite steady after the tsunami disaster," India's junior tourism minister Renuka Choudhury told parliament. Sri Lanka faces more somber prospects. Official figures show tourist arrivals up eight percent in the first five months of 2005, but the president of the Inbound Tour Operators Association of Sri Lanka said in reality, arrivals may have dropped by 60 percent since the disaster. "Unfortunately the recovery is not as fast as we expected," Wasantha Leelananda said. | | Scuba divers and travelers are avoiding Thailand where strident dive shop owners - mostly Europeans - harshly criticized tourists and media, and attempted to downplay the horror of tsunami death and destruction. Just days after the tsunami hit and even as families searched for missing relatives and rescuers worked round the clock searching for the missing, dive shop owners launched a "business as usual" campaign, which attempted to cover up the reality of the ongoing tragedy. The tiny atoll nation of the Maldives, heavily dependent on tourism, saw 26 of 87 resort islands destroyed, but most are back in business. Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom told reporters in a recent interview that foreigners could best help his nation by visiting. Indonesia's Aceh region, which bore the brunt of the tsunami, had little tourism to lose because of an ongoing civil war. Popular Indonesian destinations like Bali have reported negligible impact. Tourism in Thailand, with its 10 million visitors per year, is struggling the hardest to rebuild a devastated industry. Some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Phuket lies Phi Phi Island, once the pearl of Thai tourism that rarely knew an off-season. Now the ferries to the island are empty, and the village of Tong Sai feels ghostly after dark. At his small travel agency, which is also an Internet cafe, Suriyon Chusit waits for clients. "In my eight years in this business, it is by far the most difficult," he says. "Many people have lost their business." People in tourism say normality could be 18 months away. "Maybe it will take longer to recover than expected," concedes TAT's Napasorn. "Not the next peak season, but the following one" in 2006. The best way to recover is to advertise "attractive promotional packages to send the message Phuket is the best value for money," Phuket tourism official Kitti says. This is exactly what the province plans to do for the next three months. As for Napasorn, she insists an early warning system now operating is crucial in reassuring foreign tourists. |
