Favourite destination, a study by Visa International Asia Pacific: CAMBODIA
- From: "Chim" <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 23 Sep 2005 11:01:50 -0700
Takeoffs & landings
By HANNAH KARP, AP
Eds: Via AP
By HANNAH KARP
The Wall Street Journal
Thailand Now
AS THE TOURIST season kicks off in Thailand, what conditions can
travelers expect less than a year after the tsunami? Beachfronts are
generally restored and hotels on the resort island of Phuket are almost
all open, though tourism remains sharply down and many who drew their
livelihood from the industry remain out of work.
Visitors will find the water clear and beaches wide, says Peggy
Peterka, director of marketing for the country's tourist authority in
Los Angeles. The National Disaster Warning Center, which opened May 30,
is up and running: The center can identify where undersea earthquakes
occur and determine the possibility of a tsunami as well as where and
when it would hit.
Even so, arrivals to Phuket were down 40 percent in the first six
months of the year from year-earlier levels, according to a recent
study by Visa International Asia Pacific and the Pacific Asia Travel
Association. From January to May, overall visits to Thailand increased
0.1 percent over the 2004 period, compared with the growth seen in
neighboring countries like Cambodia (up 52 percent), Laos (up 27
percent) and Vietnam (up 22 percent).
And many destinations are struggling to recover, leaving the local
population without enough work or income. Bangkok says about 2,900
tsunami survivors remain in shelters, with almost 8,000 people left
unemployed by the tidal waves.
For travelers venturing back, the U.S. State Department warns that
drowning is the leading cause of death for Phuket tourists; some
beaches lack flags to warn of strong undercurrents. The American agency
also warns that ferries and speedboats between Thailand's many islands
are often overcrowded and carry insufficient safety equipment. Three
U.S. tourists died this January when the overcrowded speedboat they
were in capsized and sank off the coast of Koh Samui.
09/23/05 10:13 EDT
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the
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