Thai tourism industry to suffer as tourists flee

[Sawatdee]

Thursday December 30, 10:27 AM
Thai tourism industry to suffer as tourists flee devastated beaches
Of the 12 million tourists who visited Thailand this year, many headed straight to the gems of the south to soak up the sun along tropical beaches, dive on spectacular coral reefs and indulge in a languid, sometimes lascivious, lifestyle.

Now, they're scurrying away in droves, reeling from a disaster of epic proportions which left five-star resorts and US$3-a-night (€2-a-night) bungalows in ruins and polluted the air with the stench of rotting corpses.

Sunday's earthquake-powered tidal waves dealt a sharp blow to Thailand's cash cow _ the flourishing tourism industry which collects about a third of its income from the beaches and isles of the Andaman Sea.

As a start, about 1.2 million foreigners are likely to cancel their trips to Thailand, costing the industry some 30 billion baht (US$750 million, €555 million), according to the Association of Thai Travel Agents. Others predict arrivals will fall by as much as 2 million in coming months.

Losses will be incurred by Thai and some international airlines, hotels and restaurants as well as an army of small-time entrepreneurs catering to tourists, from beachside noodle vendors to masseuses.

Tourism and Sports Minister Sonthaya Khunpluen estimated that some 200,000 employees in the tourism sector, the country's no. 1 foreign exchange earner, were expected to lose their jobs due to the disaster.

"We're finished. There are no tourists, there are no fishermen," said Teeraphon Pramong, the owner of a pier north of Phuket who bought an average of one ton of seafood a day from local fishermen for sale to hotels at the prime tourist area of Khao Lak.

The pier was wiped out, his suppliers are dead and the luxury resorts of Khao Lak have been so devastated that some may never be rebuilt, he said.

Nearby, Choomphon Plaiguam, whose five boats ferried about 100 tourists a day for snorkeling trips to offshore islands, said he would switch to farming if the foreigners stopped coming. He had been fully booked through the New Year's holiday season, he said, but everyone has canceled in recent days.

Foreigners also are suffering, including those in the lucrative diving business. The Andaman Sea is a world class diving destination.

"I have to come back. I have more than 100,000 pounds (US$192,750, €141,500) investment in this place," said Steve Goff of Reigate, England, standing amid the wreckage of his Barracuda Dive Center on Phi Phi Island.

At least three bodies were laying in his classroom and the only thing left standing was a mannequin of a diver dressed in an old-fashioned diving suit.

"Even though we can quickly rebuild hotels, it will take some time to draw back tourists to the affected areas," Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said while touring the disaster area this week.

He noted that the ecology which draws tourists to southern Thailand had been severely damaged and popular destinations like Khao Lak and Phi Phi were leveled.

But some voiced optimism, noting that a number of restaurants were already packed a day after the waves struck and that anything-goes nightlife on Phuket's Patong beach was throbbing Tuesday night.

In stark contrast to apocalyptic scenes, some resort areas remained surprisingly unscathed or sustained only minor damage. The tourism minister said that only about 40 of the more than 200 hotels on Phuket Island were damaged.

"I think everyone is going to be surprised just how fast the Thais put their restaurants, bungalows and beach bars back up," said John Everingham, the Australian publisher of Phuket Magazine. "And if tourists realize that the next tsunami this size might be 1,000 years away, they might also come back sooner than people think. Tsunamis are not catching or lingering like SARS or terrorists."

Some tourists, stunned by the tragedy, said they would never return but others said they're eager to come back, citing the great help received from both Thai officials and private individuals, including money, clothes, free flights and hotel rooms on the house.

"The Thai people are incredible," said Carl Michael Bergman, 40, of Stockholm, Sweden, whose 18-month-old son, Hannes, had reportedly been rescued by a Thai princess. "I have been to Thailand seven times, and this time only confirmed what I know about Thai people _ that they are so generous and caring."

The tsunami rolled in just days after the Thai government trumpeted tourism's success in 2004, citing an increase of 20 percent in arrivals over the previous year and 384 billion baht (US$9.8 billion, €7.35 billion) in income despite the outbreak of bird flu and Muslim terrorism in southern Thailand.

"Thailand is very hot right now," said Juthmas Siriwan, who heads the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

[paul_au]

I think the majority of tourists will mostly just divert there travel to other parts of Thailand, unaffected by the disaster, and it will only be a few months till they return to the Southern disaster zone as they rebuild, the risk of after shocks will diminish and tidal waves will diminish to a very rare event.

[Boonyen]

Paul i disagree I know alot of people who wont go to Thailand for the next 4-5 months,
In fact my co-worker had a ticket to Thailand but now hes going to grand canaria insted(think it was grand canaria, sorry for bad spelling).

[Stacker]

The media has always done a fine job of instilling fear into the hearts of those who know no better.

The tourism will certainly be hurt, Paul_au you are certainly correct the tidal waves are certainly a rarity, and will not be coming back anytime soon. These tourist hotspots will be rebuilt very quickly too.

The problem is the larger majority of the tourists think of Thailand as Phuket & Patong as... well what they are known for. How many tourists really go to see 'Thailand'? Many go for one reason and that one reason is not easily found elsewhere throughout the country. So yes, one particular industry will be hurt. However those of us who go to Thailand for other reasons, will not be changing any plans.

Back to the news media, though they instill fear, once these hotspots are ready for business, the news media will quickly forget about them. Never re-informing the viewers that all is now good again. So tourism for these areas will be hindrered in a way that nobody can yet comprehend. It will be so hard an impact, it will likely take at least a decade to recover from.

Yet at the same time, many people internationally may have seen images of the Thai beaches for the first time and may have been surprised at the beauty even through the horror of what is on the audio track. Could have some positive effects in the long run for the area's tourism. In either case it will take a very long time to rebuild it to the point it was at one week ago.INHO

[SiamJai]

Getting tourists out may be the first good thing happening to that area ever since the first piece of coral was broken off by a careless diver.

Everyone evaluates these recent happenings from an anthropocentric point of view; that is, how it affects us, humans. But breaking news! We are not the only creatures living on this planet. The Andaman coastal ecosystem was heavily abused by tourism for decades, and now there may be a small chance for recovery.

Quote[/b] ]In either case it will take a very long time to rebuild it to the point it was at one week ago.

The longer, the better.

[SiamJai]

Quote[/b] ]The problem is the larger majority of the tourists think of Thailand as Phuket & Patong as... well what they are known for.

Yep Stacker, I agree. I also think that those visitors who want to see Real Thailand won't be deterred. It would be a positive side effect of the disaster if it would keep out the crap. But everyone knows the extraordinary resiliance of cockroaches and rats:

Quote[/b] ]anything-goes nightlife on Phuket's Patong beach was throbbing Tuesday night.

Not even a massive disaster can get rid of 'em. "Amazing Thailand", huh?