PHUKET, Thailand (28 Dec 2005) -- The Asian countries affected by the devastating tsunami a year ago will not see a return of tourists to pre- catastrophe numbers till the 2006-2007 winter season, according to the World Tourism Organization. The Madrid-based organization said in a report released on Monday that the Tsunami-affected countries -- Thailand, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Indonesia will have to wait until the next high season for their tourist sectors to fully recover from the disaster. The slowness of the recovery was largely due to the reduction in air transport capacity, which is essential as most of the tourist resorts in these countries are isolated destinations. The crucial charter-flight sectors of some travel companies "have not seen enough signs of recovery," and the air service and hotel capacity of the affected countries remain 20 percent below the pre-tsunami period, said the document. The Thai government expects to conclude this year with 11.5 million tourists, or 2 percent less than in 2004. Although the Maldives has recently recovered its usual occupancy and price levels, thanks to the deviation of tourist flows from Bali and the Caribbean (due to terrorism and hurricanes respectively), it is expected to see an overall reduction of 37.7 percent of its tourist numbers from 2004. Air capacity remains 15 percent below the 2004 level, and the high cost of fuel hinders the recovery process. | 
