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How Travellers Can Speed Up The Tsunami Recovery
The tragic devastation wrought by the Indian Ocean tsunami has touched the hearts of millions of people around the world, with unprecedented pledges of financial support for vital humanitarian relief efforts. We all want to help.

Many of the affected areas -- such as Phuket, Sri Lanka and the Maldives -- are tourist destinations. They rely on the money from both local and international travellers for their economic survival.

People in these areas know that even as they begin to rebuild their lives and their communities, full recovery will only be possible when travellers return to their shores.

This is a sensitive issue. Time is needed to complete search and rescue efforts, to identify and mourn the passing of victims, to clean up the debris. It will take more time to heal the psychological wounds of those who lost family and friends.

Thankfully, the rebuilding of physical infrastructure is now underway in many areas. In popular tourist locations such as Phuket, recovery is well advanced.

What's critical now is that you -- and all travellers -- have an accurate picture of the recovery process, so you can make informed decisions about visiting the affected regions.

These communities are not helped by "broad brush" travel advisories, which unfairly declare a whole country unsafe, or "tabloid journalism" reports dwelling on the negative aspects of the tragedy with images of death and destruction.

Their future depends on travellers coming back to visit, as soon as they are ready. And many of them are more than ready today.

This bulletin aims to present the facts of the recovery process and to highlight those areas that are ready to welcome tourists.

Please forward this e-mail to your friends and colleagues, so more people will understand that continuing to travel to tourism destinations affected by the tsunami is a great way to speed the recovery process.

· Of 45 Asia Pacific countries, only eight were affected by the tsunami (see map above).

· Of those countries, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand suffered damage to tourist destinations.

· The other countries -- Malaysia, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Seychelles -- have no significant damage to tourism destinations

· Travel and tourism facilities throughout most of Asia Pacific continue to operate as normal

· While the northern coast of Sumatra was badly damaged, there was no impact on the Indonesian resort area of Bali or other parts of the Indonesian archipelago

· According to the World Health Organization, there has been no outbreak of communicable diseases to date as a result of the tsunami

· The majority of tourism centres in Thailand continue to operate normally. This includes Bangkok, Chang Mai, Chang Rai, Pattaya, Hua Hin, Ko Samui, Hat Yai and Ko Chang.

· The affected areas are six provinces on the southwest coast of Thailand (see map above)

· Severely affected areas -- such as Khao Lak and the main township on Phi Phi Don Island -- could take a year or more to recover. Discretionary travel is not advisable.

· However many attractions within the six provinces remain open for tourism, such as James Bond Island, Koh Panyi Muslim fishing village on stilts, Koh Yao, Koh Lanta and Ao Nang in Krabi.

· Recovery is well advanced in Phuket, by far the biggest of the tourist centres in the affected area.

· "Tourism infrastructure in Phuket, Krabi, Lanta and Koh Yao are absolutely ready to receive foreign visitors. Almost 90 per cent of all hotel rooms are undamaged and the majority of hotels and resorts are operating normally. Water supplies, transport, airports, government services and electricity are functioning normally, and there are no health concerns."
- Luzi Matzig, tour operator - Asian Trails Ltd

· "I now agree that a major danger is that tourists will stay away and further undercut the livelihoods of many here."
- Robert England, former UN resident co-ordinator, Thailand

· Many European countries, such as Germany, France and the UK, have lifted travel advisories for travel to Phuket.

· For more detailed information, maps and photo galleries, click here.

· The islands of the Maldives were hit hard by the tsunami, however structural damage to resorts was not as severe as first thought

· More than 60 hotels and resorts are now operating, with about 20 being forced to close.

· International flights are operating into Male International Airport, including night flights, as well as seaplane transfers between the airport and resorts

· Key source markets, such as the UK and Italy, have eased travel advisories

· Tourism in the Maldives accounts for more than 30 per cent of GDP

· For more information.

· The south and southeastern coast of Sri Lanka, including the tourist city of Galle, was damaged by the tsunami

· Of the 246 hotels islandwide, only 25 of the star-class hotels remain closed and most are expected to be fully operational by the end of February

· All of Sri Lanka's inland heritage attractions such as Sigiriya Rock Fortress, Kandy, Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, and the elephant orphanage at Pinnewala are operating normally.

· The west coast beach resorts in and around Negombo are operating normally.

· For more detailed information on "The Facts About Sri Lanka", click here

· For an update on specific hotels and resorts in Sri Lanka, click here.