For the last six weeks the beaches have almost been deserted, the shops, bars and restaurants empty, what should have been high season for the many Phuket hotels is turning into a man-made tragedy, which is affecting the Thai people much more than the Tsunami wave hitting Thailand did.
The World Tourism Organization called an emergency conference in Phuket to discuss "The Most Important Blow Phuket Tourism Industry Ever Had", with officials saying that 200,000 jobs could be lost in the Phuket tourism industry if tourists don't start to return to the resort island.
The conference and the Phuket resort and hotel operators blame the International Media, in their sensation-chasing enthusiasm for misleading the world public about the real situation in Phuket and hence threatening the livelihood of many Phuket people by their misleading and sensation-reporting stories.
Bad reporting has influenced tourists arrivals into Phuket, although the island and its beaches had long returned to normal again with hotels, shops, restaurants and Patong's famous nightlife all operating as before, only a few days after the Tsunami impact.
The president of the Phuket hotels and resorts association, Pattanapong Aikwanich, said that in total only 5 percent of Phuket had been damaged by the tsunami and this mostly around the beach areas, but within the first 2-weeks after the Tsunami most of this damage had already been repaired and cleaned up .
Despite the adverse media coverage by the International Press, some foreign tourists still chose to come to Phuket. A German family from Heidelberg decided to proceed with their holiday plans to Phuket even though they had seen terrifying footages of areas that CNN and BBC named as being from Phuket.
Brigitte and Peter Hauk are annual visitors and did not want to cancel their Phuket hotel booking in order to support the many Thai friends and staff from the Phuket hotels and restaurants they knew here over the years.
"Unfair and Untrue", says Brigitte Hauk, "We know Phuket very well and those pictures we saw on TV were not from the Phuket area, I am not even sure they were from Thailand". Her husband, Peter, agrees and says that "The situation in Phuket is not as what the news reports are trying to sell".
A friend of the German couple added: "Those worldwide global satellite TV networks are making money on the back of Phuket while damaging the island far more than the tsunami itself". Brigitte added: "See for yourself, everything is running and back on its feet, but where are the holidaymakers?. Phuket should sue the International Press".
A British tourist who did not leave Phuket after the Tsunami said: "Its unbelievable how fast the people of Phuket have repaired the damage and cleaned the beaches. City workers, many Thai and Foreign volunteers plus a very large unit of the Thai Army have been working day and night to repair and clear up the debris. Only three days after the wave impact, the beach of Patong was open again for tourists".
"Misleading sensation-chasing stories in the International press, in the weeks following the Tsunami Wave, have damaged the Island of Phuket more than the Tsunami itself and is even until today hindering the normal tourist arrivals to the again beautiful resort island of Phuket" the president of the Phuket hotels and resorts association added.
The news broadcasted by the worldwide global satellite TV and News networks in their Tsunami sensation coverage have given the world the impression that the island of Phuket in Thailand has been wiped from the world tourism map.
Since the first day of the Tsunami, the Phuket island, with its excellent accommodation, transport and communication systems, its International airport and modern harbor facilities, its many world-class hospitals and foreign consulates, started serving as the main coordination and help centre for all relief efforts and Media Reporting for the complete area of Thailand hit by the Tsunami wave.
In the first days following the Tsunami, thousands of reporters, foreign aid officials and TV crews settled into the comfort of the many International Phuket hotels to make it their reporting base. Hence many news-stories were send into the world starting or ending with the words "Reporting From Phuket", even if the story would be about an area some 500 Kilometers away from Phuket island.
There has never been any shortage of drinking water, power, food, medical care or even a threat of disease outbreak on the whole island of Phuket and although 95 percent of the island's tourist facilities remained intact, local Phuket hotels and resorts have had to deal with unprecedented cancellations after the International Press started to air their sensation stories from the comfort of their Phuket hotel room while enjoying the hospitality and entertainment offered by the friendly people of Phuket.
In the evenings, the week after the Tsunami wave, international reporters outnumbered tourists in the many restaurants, cabarets and bars in the entertainment areas on Patong Beach in Phuket. Hence the exposure of Phuket, by becoming the International Base of the World News Media has backfired into a global misunderstanding of the real situation in Phuket and those sensation-chasing and misleading stories have done more damage to the Phuket hotels and resorts and the many Thai staff working in the tourism industry than the Tsunami itself.
Today, the World Tourism Organization and the association of Phuket hotels are sending out an SOS to the world: "Please Come On Holiday To Phuket, Its More Beautifully Than Ever". In the conference held last week on "Phuket's Tourism Situation" a spokesman of the World Tourism Organization said: "Foreigners wanting to aid can do best by booking a holiday to Phuket as 200,000 Thais working in Phuket's tourism industry could loose their job due to the created misconception of Phuket as a Holiday Destination". The spokesman added: "By staying away, travelers are adding more to the suffering to the Thai people with low-income jobs".
In a plan to combat the problems caused by the misinformation The Tourist Authority Of Thailand (TAT) is currently spending 20 million Baht (US$ 550,000) in inviting International journalists and representatives from foreign travel agencies to the resort island including free flights and free hotel packages to show them that Phuket is up and running with its beaches cleaner than ever.
From owners of Phuket hotels to noodle food-stalls on the street, to the massage ladies on the beach, all are begging for tourists to return. How could you not return to Phuket? How could you not come back to relax on Patong Beach which today looks as clean and natural as 20-years ago? How could you not come and eat those giant tiger prawns in one of the many re-build beach restaurants? How could you not enjoy a traditional Thai massage or have your hair braided while relaxing on the white sands of the beach?. How could you not enjoy a cool beer at one of the many open-air bars in Bangla street on Patong Beach?
The people of Phuket working in the tourism industry are waiting for you and could face a second wave of economic destruction. No one in the world deserves to suffer two tragedies one after the other, least of all the so friendly and hospitable Thai people. And the longer tourists stay away from Phuket, the less likely life and family income will return to normal for the locals.
For every emotional reason tourists can find not to travel to Phuket, there is an equally practical and humanitarian one. By enjoying your holiday in Phuket, you are putting money directly into the pockets of those that have been affected by the Tsunami. And don't forget that prices are currently at an all-time low with shopping bargains on every corner of the street.
Finally, to travel to Phuket or not is the travelers individual choice. But in the meantime, the people of Phuket are waiting to serve you as a King and you will never have seen a bunch of happier people running to fulfill any of your holiday wishes, while smiling and thanking you for giving them work and visiting their beautiful island.
