Tsunami resorts plead: Please come back

"If New Zealanders want to help Thailand recover from the tsunami they'll achieve a lot more by going back as tourists than by putting a couple of bucks in a collection box," says Thailand Tourist Authority's New Zealand representative Tony Smith.

Of the tourist areas hit by the Asian tsunami, Thailand's southwest coast, centred round Phuket, is the most popular destination for New Zealanders. Authorities and operators there - and in other affected areas, such as Penang in Malaysia, the Maldives, the southwest coast of Sri Lanka or Kerala in India - have worked frantically to get their tourist industries up and running again.

But, having largely done that, they now face a reluctance by tourists to return. This is partly out of fear of seeing unpleasant sights, but more from a concern about being thought insensitive. Smith brusquely dismisses such concerns.

"Tourists aren't going to be faced with horrific scenes because, except in one or two areas like Khao Lak, everything's been cleaned up. And they certainly aren't going to be thought insensitive because the local people want tourists to come back.

"On the contrary, their biggest worry is that if tourists don't return quickly they'll have a second disaster, an economic one, because they'll have to close all the hotels that survived the tsunami and lay the people off. They rely on tourism to provide employment for the locals who need it more than ever now so they can start rebuilding their lives.

"The longer we put off going back, the longer it's going to take to re-establish the place and the more negative impact the tsunami will have."

Phuket's main website, www.phuket.com, is expressing similar sentiments. The site carries a plea on behalf of the local tourist industry "encouraging visitors still to come to Phuket. Most hotels and resorts are operating normally (80 per cent of Phuket hotel rooms were unaffected and more are coming back into service daily), beaches look better than ever and almost all restaurant and tourism operations are open for business as usual".

This time of year is not the high season for New Zealanders to visit Thailand. But, Smith says, given the dreadful start to the New Zealand summer some Kiwis are looking for warm destinations. "I would encourage them to travel to Thailand because they'll be very, very welcome."

New Zealanders mostly start booking for winter breaks in Thailand around March and the Thailand Tourist Authority's fervent wish is for that to happen as usual.

"By then," Smith says, "probably only Khao Lak will still be out of action. Places like Phuket, Trang and Krabi are already pretty much back to normal. There is no reason why people should not be going back right now, let alone in a couple of months."

But while Thailand may be keen to get tourists back, are the resorts really ready?

Reports from on the ground indicate that, yes, most of them are.

House of Travel sent its product manager for Asia, Geoff Grogan, to Thailand to see for himself - according to locals there the first travel company from anywhere to take that step. He reported last week that "there is no reason why people should not return to Phuket".

The market area had relocated back from the beach to "200-year-old Road" and the atmosphere there and in the nightlife area of Bangla Road "is as normal except there are no tourists. Many restaurants are operational and there is no shortage of food or concerns about the water quality".

However, he added that the worst hit areas of Khao Lak and Phi Phi should be avoided and people should not stay at Patong Beach because it "doesn't have a good atmosphere".

Based on his reports, House of Travel is taking the precautionary approach of recommending that clients who want to go to Phuket should for the time being stay at the northern and southern beaches and travel in if they want to visit Patong Beach or to enjoy the nightlife at Bangla Road.

Brent Thomas, House of Travel's retail director, said the company's main concern was that it would not be in the long-term interests of the Thai tourist industry for people to go back too soon. "There is a concern they would not experience the true Thailand and may be disappointed in their holiday."

Like most travel agencies, House of Travel is dealing with inquiries - including from people who have already booked for Thailand - on a case-by-case basis.

"Most people are committed to taking a holiday and are looking at re-booking to other destinations such as other parts of Thailand, Australia, the South Pacific, Vietnam and Bali."

But, he warned, "people wanting to change plans or holiday overseas need to book early to ensure they secure the dates they want because a lot of others are doing the same".

Flight Centre has also been in touch with hotels in areas affected by the tsunami, and amended bookings where necessary.

Managing director Graeme Moore said most had changed destinations, a small number had cancelled, some had postponed "and some are going anyway. We know that many of these areas rely heavily on tourism so we are keen to support that as soon as it is viable and will be encouraging tourists to return to areas once safe".

United Travel general manager John Willson said the company was monitoring recovery after the tsunami closely because "we need to make sure the hotels and infrastructure are fully operational before we send people back". But, he added, "there are still areas which are safe to travel to".

"Many parts of Thailand and Malaysia are still operating completely as normal, and there's no reason why travellers can't visit an area that hasn't been affected, such as Koh Samui, Pattaya or Hua Hin for example".

International flights into Phuket and the rest of Thailand are operating normally.

Most airlines, including Air New Zealand, are offering refunds to passengers booked up to January 31 for the affected areas, the chance to rebook within the next three months or the opportunity to fly to alternative destinations.

In other tourist areas hit by the tsunami the picture is fairly mixed:

Malaysia

The tsunami caused little structural damage at Malaysia's coastal resorts. Beaches were filled with debris and some swimming pools were muddy but they have been quickly repaired.

Tours to Malaysia are running as normal and airline schedules are also unaffected.

Malaysia's Tourism Minister Dato Leo Michael Toyad says there are no problems. "Penang is back to normal. It is business as usual, with tourists enjoying their vacations."

Indonesia

Although the tsunami caused massive devastation on the north and east coasts of Aceh province, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia's main tourist destinations of Bali and neighbouring Lombok were unaffected.

Tours to Bali and flights to Indonesia generally are operating as normal.

Sri Lanka

The southern coast of Sri Lanka was badly hit, particularly around the city of Galle. But according to Udaya Nanayakkara, chairman of Sri Lanka's Tourism Board, more than half of the area's 48 hotels are still operational and most of the rest should be restored within a matter of weeks.

Travel companies expect to be running a full range of trips to Sri Lanka by the end of the month but the worst-affected areas are unlikely to be able to take tourists for some time.

India

The southeast coast of India sustained mass destruction, but only Kerala and the Andaman and Nicobar islands were popular tourist destinations.

The interior of the country and the tourist resort of Goa, on the west coast, were not hit. Goa is reported to be busy, as holidaymakers due to travel to Kerala have switched there instead.

Travel firms are continuing to sell holidays to India and flights are running normally.

The Maldives

The Maldives escaped relatively unscathed. Within two weeks of the waves hitting, 55 of the 87 resorts in the Maldives were fully operational and 13 semi-operational.

Male International Airport has reopened.

The Maldives Tourism Board says the after-effects of the tsunami are not as severe as feared because each island has its own infrastructure, minimising the risk of electrical accidents, water contamination and epidemics.

Mauritius and the Seychelles

Mauritius escaped lightly, with just minor damage to Rodrigues Island, although some hotels in the Seychelles were hit, and three hotels on Praslin remain closed.

Infrastructure has been damaged and repairs have been hindered by heavy rain and landslides. Operators are selling packages to both destinations. Passengers due to stay in hotels that are closed are being moved.