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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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In the wake of the tsunami in South-East Asia in late 2004, VISA published alternative views on the likely implications for tourism in that region, and on what we, the tourists, should do... After
the Tsunami It was frightening to watch the unfolding events of Boxing Day's earthquake and tsunami as they wrought catastrophic damage to countries around the Indian Ocean. The effects were surely magnified as they impacted areas familiar to many of us through tourism, a major component in the economies of The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and to a lesser extent in India, Malaysia and Indonesia. Whilst tour operators offered cancellations and refunds to those who had planned to travel but had not yet left, they were continuing to sell tours to parts of those countries which had not been directly affected. Was it right that tourists should continue to visit countries where there has been such massive damage and destruction? Tourist industry professionals were - predictably - quick to emphasise the importance of the their businesses to the economies of the stricken countries, and to assure us that they were working hard to bring things back to normal as soon as they could. To simply answer that the foreign exchange brought in by holiday tourists was essential to the damaged economies of these countries, is an easy and quick reply and one that might be expected from economists and business people. It misses the point that some of those foreign exchange earnings will be repatriated by multi-national tour operators, and so make rather less of a positive impact than might initially be assumed. It also misses the point that the infrastructure in the worst-affected areas will take time to recover. It is not just a question of clearing debris and rebuilding hotels and restaurants, there is also the loss of experienced and qualified manpower in hotels, restaurants, tour companies and others supplying the travel trade. It also misses the point that essential resources such as clean water, fresh food, transport, electricity, fuel, together with communications systems and supply lines and most importantly, manpower, are under very great stress coping with thousands upon thousands of displaced people whose comfort and support must surely come first. Even in the parts of the countries not directly impacted by the earthquakes and tsunami, is it necessarily right to divert resources away from disaster relief, rebuilding and renewal of homes, farms and industries? Aside from questions of economy and finance, is it necessarily in good taste that tourists should continue to visit countries where there have been such massive losses? Some may choose to travel to SE Asia in the near term, perhaps in the belief that their spending in situ will make a positive difference and help to rebuild the tourist business. Others may go to try to help out in whatever way possible - if properly arranged, a most laudable aim. Others may simply wish to continue with their travels in the belief that "Life goes on" and their presence contributes to preserving a sense of normality amongst communities that have not been touched by the horrors of this natural disaster. The response to the appeals for aid donations has been massive, and with luck and good judgement the funds will be used to restore the shattered economies and infrastructure, including the tourist industries, of the countries affected, after providing immediate relief for the survivors. I suggest
this is not the right moment to travel to SE Asia. Instead, why not donate
what you might have spent locally to the relief organizations, who will
make sure your money makes a positive difference, and make plans to travel
once life for the locals has returned to something approaching normality? After
the Tsunami This is the time to visit countries hit by the tsunami - go now or in the next year, spend money, have fun, and help the people and nations to rebuild their damaged lives and finances. We’ve all given to the aid appeals - and, hopefully, we will all carry on giving - but, in the longer term, it will be trade rather than aid that will best secure normality. Even immediately after the disaster, there were good reasons to continue travelling to the affected countries where it was possible to keep out of the way of aid operations. The most visible victims were those caught in the tsunami but throughout the affected regions, people have been suffering and will go on suffering as their livelihoods - that's you - disappear with the tourist bookings. Tourism has plummeted overall - not just in the worst affected areas - bringing hardship ranging from the merely difficult to the disastrous, even though some of the areas that could be visited are hundreds of miles from the beach resorts destroyed by the tsunami. Take Thailand, for example, where many visitors stayed away during what should have been the peak season and the government, national airline, resorts and people of affected areas have appealed for their return. Tourism accounts for 6% of Thai GDP - but that is a national term while the money is earned in a far more localised way. In holiday areas, tourism may be 75% or more of local income. This is not just the cash to keep hotels and restaurants open but money to enable people to feed their children, money to keep scores of elephants made redundant when the logging industry went, money to pay for communities to continue and so on. In areas of southern Thailand, many untouched by the tsunami itself, the sudden cutting off of income has been a severe blow; and even in northern areas, hundreds of miles away, the chill wind of economic dislocation - again, that's you staying away - has been felt, though some places (e.g. Chiang Mai) fared better as visitors switched destinations. It is likely that even adjacent countries, Laos and Cambodia for example, have also seen a drop in income since they are often linked in travellers’ plans. Some commentators have described the staying away of tourists and other forms of business as “the second tsunami”. There is also another reason to go…to show support for people who, with their own dead in their media every day, are profoundly sad that so many foreign guests were killed. In a recent trip to north-east Thailand, a number of people told us of their anguish that foreigners had died. We expressed our sorrow at the whole situation and assured them that everyone we knew had watched the events unfold with horror and sympathy - and that everyone wanted to do what they could to help. If you look at Sri Lanka, one of the worst affected countries, it is hard to see tourists returning yet to the beach areas worst hit by the tsunami but there are the alternatives of the fascinating historic sites, the beauty of the hill country, the legendary Kandy with its fabulous Temple of the Tooth...There, tourism accounts for 11% of GDP and reports at the time of writing said very few foreign tourists were on the teardrop island despite only a sixth of its 246 hotels being closed. The Maldives, where tourism accounts for a third of GDP, desperately need to get their industry running again. Occupancy has been down 40% despite 63 of the 87 resorts operating normally. If tourists stay away, the nation will crash into an economic catastrophe. What should you do? * Spend your tourist pounds in countries hit by the tsunami, assuming that is your choice of destination * Make sure you are not going to an area where you will be a burden in difficult circumstances - mostly, you will not * Make your money count - if you want the most money possible to go into local pockets, travel independently, spend your money widely, be generous * If you need a package, go for it because, even if (as some fear) a percentage of your cash wings its way to other countries’ businesses, you will still be adding something to incomes and the feeling of hope for the future * Do not get caught up with ideas of “good taste” where you virtuously kick the survivors again by leaving them without income as you take your trip to the Caribbean or Mediterranean * Do not generalise about resource and manpower shortages; take the advice of the nations themselves and be sensitive when you arrive. * If you fear another tsunami, you can choose from many places that would not be affected. In Thailand, for example, Ko Samui, Ko Pha-Ngan (site of the story of The Beach, though the film was made mostly on Ko Phi Phi) or any of the gulf coast. It can be a little uncomfortable sometimes, when you are enjoying yourself so much and, at the same time, you know of the horrors of the tsunami victims. But it is good and responsible tourism - you can feel better about it than taking the easy way out and staying away. We’ve stayed in most of the worst-hit Thai resorts during the years leading up to the tsunami…we've got the memories and photos of the warm and welcoming people we met at Ko Phi Phi, Phang-Nga, Khao Lak, Kamala on Phuket, Ko Lanta, Krabi…we remember just a year ago the warmth of the welcome to Sri Lanka's inland and coastal areas. This year we carried on with our plans to visit Thailand’s poorest region, the north-east, using public buses, and ending with a thoroughly luxurious few days at the Cabbages and Condoms resort on the east coast - C&C, as it is more frequently known in modest Thailand, uses all its profits for social projects like fighting HIV and poverty. Next year we will be back again. Maybe we'll see you there… First published in VISA issue 60 (April 2005) |