A British couple who survived Thailand's tsunami disaster have returned to sunbathe on the beach where they were nearly killed, refusing to abandon their holiday.

"We are spending and putting money back into the local economy. That is really important. And we will make a point of coming back next year too," said the heavily-bronzed Steve Spanswick.

He and his wife Karen arrived in Phuket on December 17. On Thursday they were among a few dozen tourists soaking up the rays on the long, palm tree-lined Patong Beach.

When the tsunami hit, the middle-aged couple from Hampshire ran for their lives when they saw a wall of water approach the beach. Caught up in the raging torrent, they were separated but both managed to find safety, bruised and battered.

"It was terrifying but a lot of people were in a far worse condition than us and it was much better that they got home first. The best thing we could have done is to stay here," Spanswick said.

Thousands whose livelihoods depend on tourism agree with those sentiments.

An e-mailed plea from the manager of the Kata Beach Resort in tsunami-ravaged Phuket was clear: We're re-open for business, clients are again sunning themselves by the pool and, please, put out word that vacationers can come back.

The e-mail summarized the fears of a destroyed tourism industry.

European governments are still advising against travel to areas devastated by the December 26 tidal wave, but tour operators are urging vacationers not to shun Asia long-term, saying they can help put the region and survivors back on their feet by spending their tourism dollars there.

Tourist arrivals at Bangkok's international airport have plunged 27 per cent in recent days. About 18,904 tourists arrived on January 1-3, down 27.4 per cent from the same period a year earlier. In December, some 835,624 tourists arrived, a 6.4 per cent increase from 2003.

"I believe the fall of 27.4 per cent was the bottom, as people were shocked from the recent event," said Thailand's Sontaya.

Tourism accounts for 6 per cent for Thailand's gross domestic product. "The drop in tourist arrivals during the first three days of January marked a clear sign that the tsunami has had a psychological impact on tourism," said Tourism and Sports Minister Sontaya Kunplome.

Asian governments have been e-mailing tourism officials around the world with appeals not to forget them.

"Governments are saying: 'The wave punished us, don't punish us again by depriving us of our economic activities'," said Rene-Marc Chikli, president of the French Association of Tour Operators.

The Asian tsunami could cause US$1 billion in losses to Thailand's economy, much of it in lost tourism revenue, a study said on Wednesday.

A large chunk of the total comes from an estimated US$380 million to US$760 million loss of tourism revenues, based on the assumption that the number of tourists visiting the six affected provinces will fall 25 per cent to 50 per cent in the next six months.

Declining consumer confidence as a result of the disaster is expected to trim the revenues of other businesses, such as retail sales outlets, by around US$256 million, the study said.

Tour operators expect foreign visitors to continue to come to Thailand but many may head to northern provinces instead.

Still, officials in Thailand and Sri Lanka are hoping to draw vacationers back. In sharp contrast to the gloom hanging over the death and destruction in Indonesia's Aceh Province, the officials and hotel operators were drying out their welcome mats.

"In Malaysia, the destinations of Langkawi and Penang have returned to normal and only some beachfront hotels have been affected."

"For example, in the Maldives, 64 out of 87 resorts are reported to be fully operational."

French charter flights to the Maldives, which were stopped after the tsunami washed over the Indian Ocean archipelago, will resume on January 16, as will trips to other affected countries, although outside the stricken zones, said Chikli.

"Since these countries are asking for tourists to return, we think that it will be possible to re-open all routes within about two weeks," said Francesco Granese, director of the Assotravel group.

Short memeories

Previous disasters have shown that tourists frequently have short memories and that re-building is often rapid in places dependent on visitors, tourism professionals said.

"People forget very, very quickly. I think in three months they will have forgotten about it totally," said Jean-Francois Rial, head of French tour operator Voyageurs du Monde.

Only 10 per cent of the tourist attractions on the Andaman Sea coast and islands, including coral reefs, had been damaged by the tsunami, she said.

"The water is crystal clear, just like in the past 20 years. This will help attract tourists to come back."

The most number of tourist deaths occurred in Thailand.

A total of 2,463 foreigners are among the country's 5,187 dead. Most of the tourists were killed on Khao Lak beach, in Phang Nga just north of Phuket. There are still 1,657 foreigners on the missing list.

Sri Lankan Deputy Tourism Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said the government hoped to achieve its 2005 target of 600,000 tourists.

"We had already crossed 500,000 by the end of November," he said.

"The tourists are already coming back and the major problem is to find them accommodation," he said.

Ranatunga said about 2,000 hotel rooms had been destroyed.

Gehan de Silva, head of the Jetwing group of hotels, said only one of his 12 properties, the Yala Safari Game Lodge, had been destroyed by the tsunami.

"By the fourth day, many of the dead had been buried and the thoughts of the local communities turned to their future," de Silva wrote in an e-mail to tour operators.

"They don't want to live off relief aid. Many people from park staff to jeep drivers to wayside kiosk owners asked me to re-start business as soon as possible. They repeatedly said that the best way we can help is to bring tourists back."

De Silva said 70 per cent of Sri Lanka's tourism infrastructure was intact.

Norwegian tourist Anita Lyndholm, another frequent visitor to Thailand, said she never considered cancelling her holiday.

"It won't come back again, I guess, I hope," Lyndholm said after a swim in the azure waters of the Andaman Sea. "I love the water here. We love staying here."

While some remained loyal to favourite holiday spots, the destruction has sent tourists packing to other Asian destinations. Australian travel agents and airlines said some passengers were still choosing to go to Koh Samui and other unaffected parts of Thailand, while others were picking places such as Viet Nam, Sabah in eastern Malaysia, Fiji and Hawaii.

South Korea's Culture and Tourism Minister Chung Dong-chae, who also chairs the World Tourism Organization (WTO), will convene an emergency executive board meeting to discuss ways to rehabilitate tourism in the tsunami-hit South Asian countries, the ministry said on Wednesday.

The meeting will be held in the Thai island of Phuket on January 31 and February 1 and will likely be attended by representatives from 29 executive board members and the tsunami hit South Asian nations, such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldives and Sri Lanka, are to appear in the meeting

The Madrid-based WTO's Website (www.world-tourism.org) said international and national organizations, tour operators, donors and other industry representatives would be invited to the meeting in the Thai resort at a date which was not specified.

"Experience gained in previous emergency situations shows that tourism is capable of recovering often more vigorously and rapidly than initially expected.

"I am confident that this time it won't be different, in spite of the severity and geographical extent of the disaster," the statement said.

(China Daily 01/08/2005 page3)