Word: phuket
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...Today, much of the debris has been cleared away or hidden behind high fences, and damaged hotels and businesses have already reopened or plan to do so in the next few months. "The devastation," says O.B. Wetzell, an American resort developer and chairman of the International Business Association of Phuket, "was surgical. It wasn't total erasure...
...Tell that to those still planning their winter vacations. Locals in Phuket, from hawkers to hotel managers, say tourists, spooked by the thought of a vacation in a disaster zone, have avoided the holiday mecca. Beaches crowded before Christmas with several thousand sun worshippers?and whose euros and dollars and renminbi directly or indirectly support 70% of the local population?now play host to just a few hundred. Hotel occupancy has plummeted from the usual 90% to just 10-15%. International carriers?including Thai Airways?have canceled some direct flights to the island. It's now possible to spend...
...bear the same taint. In Sri Lanka and the Maldives, businesses have watched tourists disappear and dollars dry up. Even Bali, more than 4,300 km away from the hardest hit Indonesian province of Aceh, has seen canceled bookings. At an emergency summit of the World Tourism Organization in Phuket early this month, Secretary General Francesco Frangialli called the cancellations in the region "irrational." Speaking to delegates from around the globe, he urged governments to take swift action to get the tourists back "in order to alleviate the suffering of the affected populations...
...highlight the many attractions that were untouched or have already reopened, in hopes of dispelling the gruesome images of paradise lost. Both campaigns attempt to reassure their audience that it's not only O.K. to return?it's necessary. "I liken it to attending a charity ball," says Laguna Phuket's Batt. "You get to go to a place and feel good about...
...disaster tourists. We are not here to see the damaged buildings. We are here for the sun and the sea, but we are also here for the local people. They are so happy to see us. Our friends [in Holland] thought we were mad to come. They think Phuket is now in ruins. But it's not true...