Fritidsresor, the Swedish tour operator sending the largest number of tourists to Khao Lak, have started to promote tour programmes to Khao Lak on the Internet again this autumn after having consulted with the…
Fritidsresor, the Swedish tour operator sending the largest number of tourists to Khao Lak, have started to promote tour programmes to Khao Lak on the Internet again this autumn after having consulted with the Tsunami Victims’ Relative Association.
Khao Lak is the area where the biggest number of Swedish tourists died when the Tsunami hit the Andaman coast of Thailand. Most of them stay in the Blue Village on Pakarang Cape situated on the northern part of Khao Lak, which was seriously destroyed by the Tsunami.
The company estimated earlier last year that it needs many years to bring back tourists into this area. However, Mrs. Lottie Knutson, PR Director of Fritidsresor said, “The renovation has been done very fast”. The natural beauty of the beach has revived quickly and many hotels have reopened to receive guests whereas villagers are ready to welcome visitors again. The decision to bring back Swedish tourists into this area must be carefully considered, taking into account the sensitive feeling of the victims’ relatives.
Mrs. Knutson said, “Apart from other things, we contacted the association of the Tsunami victims’ relatives which supports us on this matter”.
The tour programme will begin in November this year. Two hotels which the company will book for their clients are the least affected or almost not affected at all by the Tsunami. Another hotel has just built a new accommodation area for families.
However, the company has no plan to build its own accommodation at the Blue Village on Pakarang Cape. Mrs. Lottie Knutson said, “That spot is closely related to the disaster since it is the place where most of our clients and staff died”.
The plan of the Swedish charter tour to bring tourists back to Khao Lak reflects demand because its competitor “Apollo” will begin its tour programme to this area too.
Mr. Mats Dahlquist, Marketing Director said “There is an opportunity to start sending our tourists in winter, but we still hesitate to make a decision. Many people lost their relatives there, meanwhile, if we do not send tourists there, it means that we do not help the villagers in that area to earn a living. It is difficult to make a balance.”
Mr. Bob Stigsson, one of the founders of the Tsunami Victims’ Relatives Association said, “The best thing is to start as soon as possible. It is to help villagers there, and I think that most of the members have the same idea. We have been talking about this and many relatives of the victims have already travelled to the area, and we are ready to go there again”.
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Stockholm office has been putting its effort in communicating with tour operators and tourists in Sweden regarding the current development of the affected areas and the readiness of tourism facilities to accommodate tourists again.
In 2005 Thailand won several awards in Scandinavian market. Two awards won in Sweden were “the World’s Best Charter Destination” accolade for summer 2005 from Allt om Resor travel magazine and “The Best Tourist Destination 2005” which Thailand has won for the fourth consecutive year. The latter award was organized by Travel News Magazine, an independent Swedish travel trade magazine.
The latest statistics of Swedish tourist arrivals to Thailand at Bangkok International Airport between January — March 2006 was 67,808, an increase by 16.25% from the same period in 2005.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
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