Phuket and other areas affected by the December 26, 2004 tsunami are to be rebuilt in line with strict principles of sustainable development…
Phuket and other areas affected by the December 26, 2004 tsunami are to be rebuilt in line with strict principles of sustainable development and will be used as a model for future development in Thai coastal tourism.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has been given the responsibility of developing a detailed plan for a model beach resort and will use Phuket’s best-known beach, Patong, as the first place to implement it.
Speaking at a press conference on January 4, 2005 Mrs Juthamas Siriwan, Governor of TAT said, “The model city that we have planned for Patong will be beautiful. There will be a bicycle lane, good public transportation, sufficient parking areas and all other necessary tourists amenities.”
She added that everything would be properly zoned and be very orderly.
Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapallop will chair the team that will also be responsible for rehabilitation of other affected tourism products and services. Currently in all the affected areas, major clean up operations are underway and order has been restored to most beaches except for in Phang Nga as the province suffered serious structural damage.
Operations at the government’s relief and rescue centres for the victims in Phuket, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun, as well as the Phi Phi Island off Krabi province, except Phang Nga have also ceased operations. A rescue centre set up in Bangkok at Thammasat Unversity, Rangsit Campus has been closed.
Mrs Juthamas said that with collaboration from all the airlines, the public and private sector most victims have been transferred back to Bangkok and many have returned safely to their respective countries.
She added, “It is heartwarming to see however, that many, especially those who didn’t lose family or were not badly hurt are staying on and continuing their holidays either in the south itself or at other destinations in the country”.
On December 31, 2004 TAT sent a team to assess the damage to the different tourism products and services in the affected areas like the beach, landscape and marine life. The team has reported that the damage inflicted on the natural environment has been minimal, most of it being centered on infrastructure and buildings.
The report also says that most of the coral reefs that Thailand is famous for especially the world-renowned dive sites of Similan islands and the Richelieu Rock have seen little or no damage. The little damage that may have occurred is to the hard corals in shallow waters of around 10-30 ft.
Mrs Juthamas said the most interesting finding is that “nature has cleansed itself” and in areas like Phuket and the islands of Surin and Similans, “the water quality now resembles that of what it was like 20 years ago.”
The TAT is now preparing to resume marketing in its main source markets of Asia, Europe and the US.
Working closely with Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapallop and the Office of Tourism Development, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the TAT is planning to relaunch aggressive marketing campaigns in March 2005 at the world’s biggest travel trade show, Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) in Berlin.
Mrs Juthamas said, “Very soon we will also start organising roadshows in our main markets especially across Europe. Working with the private sector, there will be heavy campaigning to bring people back into the country.”
She added, “We will also step up our marketing in the (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) MICE market. Corporate visitors have a much higher spending than tourists and the incoming money will help boost tourism revenues in the country.”
The TAT is inspecting the water quality at all the beaches as well as the status of accommodation facilities.
Among other points raised by Mrs Juthamas: The target of 20 million visitor arrivals by 2008 will not yet be revised. International visitor arrivals figures will be assessed after three months and only if the situation hasn’t improved will it be adjusted.
Most of the relaunch campaigns will begin with the domestic markets and will be done in collaboration with the Thai Hotels Association and the Association of Thai Travel Agents. TAT will design special packages and special fares to provide incentives and opportunities for domestic travellers to start travelling again.
The tourism situation in other popular destinations is very positive, from being heavily booked in places like Bangkok, Pattaya, Koh Samui and Koh Chang to having availability on weekdays in places like Hua Hin, Cha am, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
The estimated loss from structural damage of tourism products and services stands at 39 billion baht (US$ 1 billion).
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
