SOUTH ASIA. As the United Nations mobilises its biggest-ever relief operation in response to this week’s South Asian earthquake and tsunami, the region’s vital tourism industry is set to suffer a secondary commercial impact to the human devastation already caused.
At least 23,000 people have been killed as a result of this week’s natural disaster. Thousands more are missing, while millions are homeless and many areas are threatened with outbreaks of disease.
At least ten countries have been affected, with Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Thailand the worst hit. The United Nations says the international response to the disaster will have to be bigger than the one mounted a year ago when an earthquake killed about 30,000 people in the historic city of Bam, Iran.
“The cost of the devastation will be in the billions of dollars. It will probably be many billions of dollars,” said UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland. “We had the biggest outpouring of international relief ever then. I think this one will surpass that – and it should, because it’s a much bigger disaster.”
While all attention now, rightly, is on the human cost, each of the affected zones is facing crippling damage to their respective tourism industries. In cases such as the south and east of Sri Lanka and Phuket in Thailand tourism is the economic lifeblood of the local people.
In this special report we bring you the latest information from a number of the worst-hit areas, and examine the impact on the all-important Japanese outbound travel market into the disaster zones.
Sri Lanka: Alpha Orient Lanka and Rakhita Jayawardena prepare industry relief fund
In Sri Lanka, where at least 13,000 people are dead amid scenes of unbelievable devastation, Centaur Travel Retail and King Power Traveller President Rakhita Jayawardena told The Moodie Report this morning: “The after-effects of the tsunami have left thousands of lives shattered and the disaster is so great that the rescue efforts of the state are not enough to help with the rehabilitation and current crisis that is prevailing with regard to the displaced families.
“It’s very tragic. Therefore we recognise that all civilians also have to come forward and lend a hand in the rescue and rehabilitation efforts and we are all doing our very best to help those who need food, water, shelter and clothing. We want to help rehabilitate families who have lost everything.”
Alpha Orient Lanka Managing Director Paul Topping told us: “Sri Lanka is facing a major crisis unlike any it has had in its troubled history. Relief is now arriving and the people of Colombo have demonstrated their solidarity with the coastal families and tourists who are suffering.
“Given all the phone calls from our trade and offers of help, we would like to see the duty free industry active in relieving the suffering.”
Alpha Orient Lanka, together with the Jayawardena-headed companies Centaur and King Power Traveller, is setting up an immediate, localised help fund and is calling for help from the global duty free industry.
Note: The Moodie Report will publish details of the relief fund as soon as they are available.
Topping said that in the interests of pragmatism the fund would probably focus on a specific, manageable community where the industry could make a difference quickly. “Our staff are offering to donate a day’s or week’s wages, so there’s great local input as well,” he said.
He added: “The stories coming out of the affected areas are horrific. Hotels have been obliterated and in some cases there is no sign of either staff or tourists. We have now tracked down all of our staff, which took us two days. While we’ve accounted for them, there are some we can’t get to. One has lost nine members of his family, and several have lost their homes.”
Topping said that all the offices in the port area of Colombo – including Alpha Orient Lanka – were evacuated yesterday amid rumours of a second wave. Tourists from around the country have been amassed in conference centres, awaiting travel clearance to their home countries. The airport is functioning normally, he said, with hundreds of aid workers pouring in plus Sri Lankans returning home to locate their families and lend assistance.
The authorities have in the past 24 hours cremated thousands of people, many of them unidentified. A curfew has been established in many towns and all alcohol sales and consumption has been banned for five days. All New Year celebrations have been cancelled.
The impact on business will be severe, Topping warned. “We’re in our peak trading month and we suspect we will see at least a drop of -50% in traffic. And that 50% will be the high-spending European travellers drawn by cheap Asian prices. It could be much worse than -50%.”
Japanese travel cancellations mount
Already Japanese travel agencies have suspended tours to the affected areas amid scores of sudden cancellations by individual travellers.
According to our journalistic colleagues at Travel Journal International Online (TJI), the peak Japanese travel season from 22 December to 4 January 2005 will see many more cancellations among Japanese travel groups. The impact of the disaster will be particularly acute as Japanese travel demand to beach resort destinations in Asia over the holiday period was strong.
Some 321,000 travelers from Japan were estimated to visit Asian destinations during the holiday season, TJI said.
In a special bulletin that underlined the gravity of the disaster and its impact on the travel business, TJI said that 17 major and mid-size travel agencies conducted agent-organized tours to the affected destinations, including Phuket, the Maldives, Penang, Langkawi and Phi Phi Island, involving some 1,305 travellers. The whereabouts of some 25 was unconfirmed. The number does not include those who were in Asia travelling independently.
TJI said the impact could lead Japanese travellers to choose other short-haul destinations such as Australia, New Zealand Hawaii, Guam and the South Pacific rather than South Asia or even all of Asia. “A key issue in the minds of Japanese travelers will be that of health amid potential outbreaks of epidemics and contamination,” it reported.
At Tokyo Narita Airport some 39,000 travellers are expected to fly out today, airport officials said. They said around 700,000 people will depart Japan’s main international gateway between 22 December and 10 January. Japan Airlines and Thai Airways International told Kyodo News earlier today that so far the disaster has had a limited impact on the number of passengers on Bangkok-bound flights.
At Kansai International Airport in Osaka some 16,000 people are expected to fly out today with holiday departures expected to peak Thursday. More travelers are heading to closer destinations like Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan due to the shorter holiday season, according to local reports.
About 420,000 Japanese travellers – the highest figure since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US – are expected to depart abroad from Kansai during the holiday period.
The crucial question on everyone’s lips is how badly will the outbound business be hit. Will Japanese travellers be scared off foreign travel or simply change destinations? No-one doubts, however, that the worst-affected countries are set to see a deep decline in their short-term tourism revenues.
Phuket badly affected
For the Japanese and Thai travel industries, travel to Phuket is a particular concern as the island destination generates some 40% of Thailand’s tourism industry. The destination is popular among Japanese marine sports enthusiasts, especially for diving and snorkeling.
Reports said that the bridge connecting Phuket Island to mainland Thailand was washed away by the tidal waves, cutting off land traffic to and from the island.
Japanese agent-organized tours to most affected destinations were cancelled on 27 December. Cancellations of tours to such destinations as Phuket and the Maldives will be extended for as long as 14 days to 10 January said TJI.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s two airlines, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, have temporarily suspended flights to Phuket. Korean Air’s six weekly flights to Phuket from Incheon and Busan will be halted until the end of January. Asiana Airlines suspended its two weekly flights from Incheon to Phuket until the end of January.
Here’s a quick round-up of travel agency news from TJI:
• JTB Corp says that it will, as a rule, conduct all tours as usual. Japan’s largest travel agency says it will provide consumers with the latest information in the aftermath of the disasters and leave the decision up to consumers.
• H.I.S., Jalpak, ANA Sales & Tours and Kinki Nippon Tourist (KNT) have suspended operations of agent-organised tours to the relevant destinations until early January 2005. H.I.S. has decided to cancel tours to Phuket scheduled from 28 December through 6 January. H.I.S. will continue to operate tours to the Maldives, Langkawi and Penang. With the Maldives H.I.S. is informing customers of cancellations depending on the damage levels to individual hotels.
• ANA Sales & Tours has cancelled tours to Phuket, Krabi, Langkawi and the Maldives departing from 27 December to 8 January. Some 60 participants haved been affected by the cancellations. ANA Sales & Tours has waived cancellation fees from participants and rescheduled the planned 9 January through 31 January departures. It has allowed for changes to other destinations.
• KNT will conduct Maldives-stay and Phuket-stay tours with departures from 28 December to 15 January if planned hotels can accommodate participants. It will cancel tours if hotels are unable to accept tourists.
• Jalpak has cancelled tours (some 40 participants) for the Maldives departing from 27 December to 10 January. Jalpak plans to make a decision by 4 January regarding the tours departing on and after 11 January.
• ANA Sales & Tours has completely cancelled tours to all destinations affected by the tsunami and earthquake. It has said that it plans to send some staff members to the destinations to investigate the circumstances first hand and make a final decision for tours leaving on and after 9 January.
• JTB has cancelled its tours for the Maldives and South India on 27 December but plans to operate tours to four destinations: Maldives, Phuket, Langkawi and Penang departing on and after 28 December.
• Nippon Travel Agency (NTA) has called off its tours to Phuket scheduled to depart on 28 and 29 December (some 40 participants), but is expected to take a decision on 28 December for tours leaving on and after 30 December.
KNT has expressed hope that the disasters will not trigger cancellations of tours to unaffected destinations and disrupt overseas travel demand in the long run.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Marketing Manager in Japan Nobuaki Fujimura told TJI: “We cannot expect much from the high winter travel season, January or February.”
Malaysia
In Malaysia almost none of the hotels in Penang and Langkawi have closed because of the Tsunami. “Some consumers may postpone their travel plans for sometime but demand will soon be coming back,” said Makoto Tokunaga, Marketing Manager at the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. “We plan to step up promotional efforts to attract the travel trade and news media in the future,” he added.
Most hotels in the Maldives have been closed because most of the islands are only about one meter above sea level, according to Cox & Kings Japan, a tour operator in the Maldives.
MORE STORIES ON THE SOUTH ASIA DISASTER
“˜Unprecedented disaster’; 25,000 may be dead – terrible impact of South Asia disaster begins to dawn – 27/12/04Alpha Orient Lanka duty free staff missing; others lose families – a Sri Lankan tragedy – 27/12/04
Earthquake and tidal wave disaster hits south and east Asia; crippling blow for tourism – 26/12/04
