Thai tourism rebounding despite terrorism, bird flu Ten months after the tsunami sent holidaymakers fleeing, Thailand is gearing up for its peak tourist season which promises to restore the industry's fortunes, even in the shadow of terrorism and bird flu... More |
Tourists shun Phuket, international arrivals down 67 percent Tourists continue to shun Phuket - international arrivals are down 67.2 percent this year - but tourism is roaring back in the Maldives and Sri Lanka where credit card spending is up 10 percent according to VISA Card International... More |
Stray dogs outnumber tourists in Phuket Although tourism is rebounding in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives where resort operators reacted honestly and sympathetically to the tsunami tragedy, visitors are avoiding Thailand's beaches where strident dive shop owners - mostly Europeans - harshly criticized tourists and media, and attempted to downplay the horror of so many deaths... More |
Fear of ghosts scare tourists away from Phuket Fears that another deadly tsunami will crash over Phuket are scaring away many travelers from the Thai resort island six months since the disaster. But hordes of Asian tourists are staying away for another reason: worries that ghosts of thousands of victims may be haunting the beaches and bungalows... More |
Miss Universe bikini babes boost ailing tourism industry Miss Universe babes descended on the resort islands of Phuket and Phi Phi to check in on post-tsunami reconstruction and remind the world that this year's beauty pageant contestant is more than just another bikini bimbo... More |
Just leave tsunami-damaged coral reefs alone say scientists The best way to regenerate the scores of Asian coral reefs battered by the devastating tsunami of December 2004 is simple, say conservation bodies - leave them alone... More |
Tourists not ready to come back warns Thai tourism leader The head of the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA) warned that government targets for Thailand's ailing tourism industry will be difficult to reach because "People are not yet ready to come back"... More |
Post-tsunami, wary tourists still avoid Thailand Since the December 26 tsunami devastated coastal areas in a dozen Asian countries, thousands of wary tourists have cancelled their trips to Thailand and switched to other destinations... More |
Phuket's 'don't worry, it's OK' ads fall on deaf tourist ears Ad slogans and pleas for tourists to support Phuket's tourism industry will not persuade travelers to return to Thailand. 'Only assurances of a safe and comfortable stay can bring about a sustainable and fast recovery,'' said one expert. A sociology professor from Japan said many tourists would feel guilty about having fun in the aftermath of the tsunami... More |
Thailand secretly kills search for tsunami victims to boost tourism The Thais have made no public announcement about their plan as they expect a backlash from European governments and next of kin who are still missing more than 1,200 people... More |
Spanish tsunami mission diver drowns diving in Indonesia A Spanish naval diver on a mission to help tsunami victims died Tuesday in an accident in Indonesia, the Defense Ministry said in Madrid... More |
United Nations blames tourism for worsening tsunami disaster The United Nations has blamed tourism development for worsening the effects of the recent tsunami, according to a new report. The report revealed that in areas where mangrove forests or reefs had been destroyed to make room for tourist developments the tsunami had a more devastating impact than it would have had otherwise... More |
Post-tsunami coral reef assessment done in Thailand Two new surveys of Thailand's coral reefs show the impact of the Asian tsunami was highly varied, but with most damage identified within the country's national marine parks... More |
Terrorist bomb blasts injure 8 in southern Thailand Still struggling to recover from the tsunami disaster that killed at least 5,300, Thailand has been hit by terrorist bombings in three Muslim-dominated southern provinces... More |
Deadly dengue fever explodes in southern Thailand Thai health officials have warned that the latest outbreak of deadly dengue fever must be brought under control and prevention measures must be put in place immediately in order to save lives... More |
Not a soul in sight: Thailand's devastated tourist resorts Not a soul is on the sand, no boats are on the water, and the village itself looks like a war zone. Palm trees are uprooted, buildings flattened, and the ground littered with the remains of a once-thriving tourist village. Beachside bungalows are completely wrecked, save a toilet here or a shower stall there... More |
Corpses and ghosts: Thailand remains a 'no-go' zone "I can never go swimming at the beach as I did before," said Peter Vagtborg, who returned to Phuket weeks after the disaster to check on friends. "A lot of people have died... Where are they? Where? Somewhere in the ocean, maybe. You think about this--at the same time have a holiday? I don't think I can do this," he added... More |
Phi Phi: From tropical paradise to horrific island of the dead Two monstrous breakers struck on both sides of Phi Phi's narrow sandspit between Tonsai and Loh Dalam bays, obliterating everything in their path. People who ran screaming from the wall of water bearing down on the ferry's pier were hammered by another three-storey wave coming the opposite way. It swept them away, along with broken coral, shattered boats, air conditioning units and large chunks of rubble. Jagged pieces inflicted horrific injuries - more than 4,500 people were treated for fractures and deep wounds. About 10 per cent of the injuries required amputation... More |
Business as usual for Phuket's prostitutes and drag queens The strip bars in Phuket are reporting little downturn in trade since the tsunami. Even the transvestite cabaret and gay bars are business-as-usual. "Yes, we are just as busy as before the tsunami," said Toto, a drag queen... More |
Thai scammers cashing in on tsunami corpses One month after Asia's tsunami disaster triggered a global outpouring of compassion, a seamy side of human nature is emerging as fraudsters and profiteers scramble to make money out of misery. Grotesque pictures of drowning victims are being sold as souvenirs in the heavily damaged Thai resort of Phuket and bogus donation websites have been set up in various countries to divert aid from the mouths of survivors to the pockets of scam artists... More |
Thai resort destroys paper trail leading to missing tourists Documents and paperwork from guesthouses and shops on the tsunami-ravaged island of Phi Phi are being tossed on to bonfires, buried in landfill sites or blown out to sea. There is also a growing row over what should become of this wasteland, with survivors proposing that the beach that divides Ton Sai Bay and Lohdalum Bay be turned into a memorial park for the tsunami victims. Foreign dive shop owners and tourism developers insist, however, that they want to build a bigger and brasher resort to cash in on Phi Phi's new-found infamy... More |
Death in Thailand: Hopes fade for Amanda Lowe The force of the tsunami destroyed the Phi Phi Island holiday beach cottage where Amanda was staying. Her boyfriend Andy was washed out through a window and rescued but it is now assumed that Amanda was unable to get out of the cottage alive... More |
Dive shop owners, jet-ski vendors fight Phuket beach clean-up rules Farang (foreigner) dive shop owners, developers and local beach vendors are clashing with authorities over new regulations aimed at cleaning up Phuket's beaches by banning the ugly clutter of ticky-tack dive shops, jet-ski rentals, food stalls and hard-sell touts that harass tourists... More |
Coastal 'bio-shield' to protect against tsunami A 'bio-shield' formed by planting a vegetation belt along coastlines would protect coastal ecosytstems against future coastal storms, cyclones and tsunamis. Mangroves would also help fishing communities as fallen leaves release nutrients into the water, aiding many species of fish that live and breed among the above-ground roots that remain submerged in the tide... More |
Farang ghosts haunt local Thais in Phuket, Phi Phi, Khao Lak Most ghost sightings appear to involve foreign tourists because Thais believe that spirits can only be put to rest by relatives at the scene, such as was done to many Thai victims. "Thai people believe that when people die, a relative has to cremate them or bless them. If this is not done or the body is not found, people believe the person will appear over and over again to show where they are"... More |
Tsunami death toll passes 226,000 The global death toll from the Asian tsunami has shot above 226,000 after Indonesia's Health Ministry confirmed the deaths of tens of thousands of people previously listed as missing. The ministry raised the country's death toll to 166,320... More |
Thailand's dirty little secret: Killer tourism tsunami destroyed reefs Long before the tsunami hit south Asia and despite all the hype and hoopla about Thailand's "spectacular, pristine dive sites", most of the coral reefs surrounding Phuket Island were already dying or dead, victims of another kind of tsunami... More |
Diver describes horror of tsunami deaths on Thailand beach American scuba diving instructor Paul Landgraver went to Thailand to dive and relax in "paradise". He never imagined that one morning he would witness the horror of people decapitated and "impaled on debris, trying to wiggle and get off, kind of like a moth"... More |
Cutting mangroves for seaside tourist resorts put lives at risk Mangrove forest cover in Thailand was cut in half between 1961 and 1996, the same period that tourists began flocking to the beaches and Thais streamed in to work in the resorts... More |
US Navy SEALs search for tsunami victims off Phuket The U.S. Navy commando jumped out of his jet-powered boat into knee-high water to search floating debris - rubber sandals, a television set, a battered refrigerator - for bodies of tsunami victims along the craggy shoreline... More |
Tsunami death toll passes 168,000 The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Indian Ocean nations rose to 168,373. Indonesia was hardest-hit by the December 26 quake and tsunamis, with 115,229 confirmed deaths and 12,132 people missing as of Sunday. Thailand's tsunami death toll crept higher to 5,321 confirmed dead, while 3,170 are reported missing... More |
Flat earth: Why Maldives suffered less tsunami damage Many thought last month's tsunami would obliterate the Maldives where most of the 1,192 atolls stand only about a meter above the ocean's surface. But while coastal areas in Thailand, Indonesia and Sri Lanka were hit hard, the Maldives escaped the full force of the tsunami... More |
King of stone age tribe vows to rebuild Andaman jungle kingdom The forager Andamanese are among five endangered primitive tribes in the Andaman and Nicobar islands. There are 200 warrior-like Sentinelese, the 98-member Onge, 350 Jarawa and 250 hunter-gatherer Shompens. All appear to have survived the tsunamis in their reclusive reserves... More |
Similan reefs severely damaged Even as Phuket dive shop owners orchestrate an attempt to mislead the public and sell Thailand's coral reefs as mostly unaffected by the tsunami, scientists have reported severe and widespread damage... More |
Sri Lanka's tourism industry takes a post-tsunami dive The ocean is about all that is beautiful in Hikkaduwa these days, gentle breezes and golden sands notwithstanding. If your gaze drifts off the water, much of what you see is devastation and loss and heartbreak... More |
Phuket tourism crippled by mass cancellations 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... More |
Putting the Maldives back on the map, literally Some parts of the Maldives were so severely lashed by last month's tsunami that the government says the map of the paradise cluster of nearly 1,200 tiny islands literally needs to be redrawn... More |
Thailand's foreign-owned dive shops fight move to 'go green' Scientists, eco groups, government officials and local Thai citizens are calling for go-slow "green" reconstruction of devastated coastlines but foreigners in Phuket who control Thailand's dive industry have launched a media-bashing campaign and are aggressively pushing for business as usual... More |
Geography, planning helped limit death, destruction in Maldives The absence of a big landmass on which to crest meant the waves hitting the Maldives did not pack the same punch that so devastated Indonesia's Aceh province, close to epicentre of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that triggered the tsunami, as well as the southeastern coast of neighbouring Sri Lanka... More |
Tourism, not tidal waves, ruined Thailand's coastal ecosystem Scientists blame tourism, greed and overdevelopment for causing far more destruction of Thailand's natural resources than tidal waves... More |
Koh Phi Phi: Island of the dead and 'many ghosts' Phi Phi means "many ghosts" in Thai, and never was the meaning more appropriate for an island where countless bodies now lie under the rubble... More |
Diving for dead bodies in Phuket Kylie Stevenson and workmate Stan Petitedemange volunteered to search the submerged lobby of a Phuket hotel for bodies after locals were trying to do the job with masks and snorkels... More |
Party's over: Down and out in tsunami-damaged Phuket All along the road, once one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on the island of Phuket, vendors and small businesses say financial ruin is staring them in the face, a sentiment shared by their counterparts along Kamala, Kata and Karon beaches... More |
Alien tampering, military testing or Elvis? My tsunami conspiracy Just 11 days after Asia's tsunami catastrophe, conspiracy theorists are out in force, accusing governments of a cover-up, blaming the military for testing top-secret eco-weapons or aliens trying to correct the Earth's "wobbly" rotation... More |
Tsunami wiped out Andaman coral reefs, devastated marine life Coral reefs have been completely washed away and marine life has been devastated in the Andaman Islands and Nicobar Islands... More |
When tsunami hit, tourist diver saved panicking PADI scuba instructor A tourist diver caught up in the Asian tsunami disaster during a dive off a Thai island last night told how he saved his PADI diving instructor from drowning as the force of the huge waves pounded on the surf above them... More |
At least 5,246 dead, 4,499 still missing in Thailand The death toll in Thailand has reached 5,246 of which nearly half of the victims are foreign tourists who were on holiday when a monstrous tsunami hit on December 26... More |
Tourists advised to cancel trips to Thailand, Sri Lanka Tourism industry leaders and government tourism ministries are advising tourists to cancel trips to disaster areas in Thailand and Sri Lanka so as not to hinder relief efforts... More |
Major tour operators ban holidays to Thailand, Sri Lanka All the major UK tour operators have now scrapped holidays to the areas worst hit by the tsunami disaster... More |
UK warns tourists to avoid Phuket, Krabi, Khao Lak in Thailand Following the recent tsunami, the UK has warned travelers to avoid all but essential travel to affected resorts and towns along Thailand's west coast, in particular Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak... More |
