Following the tsunami which struck Indian Ocean rim areas on the morning of December 26, the Pacific Asia Travel Association…
Following the tsunami which struck Indian Ocean rim areas on the morning of December 26, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is reminding consumers in source markets that most of Asia has not been affected by the tidal surges.
The disaster only directly impacted the following destinations:
India (Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh)
Indonesia (Sumatra only — no reports of damage to Java, Bali or other major islands)
Malaysia (north west peninsula Malaysia — not the east coast or Sabah or Sarawak)
Thailand (Andaman Sea coast only — not resorts in the Gulf of Siam such as Samui, Hua Hin or Pattaya)
Sri Lanka (coastal areas)
Maldives (coastal areas)
Myanmar (southern archipelago only — minimal/no impact reported at Ngapali, Chauntha, and Ngwe Saung beaches)
Bangladesh (minimal impact reported)
PATA President and CEO Mr Peter de Jong said: Fortunately, the majority of Asia was unaffected by this tragedy. Outside the Indian Ocean rim areas, the travel industry continues its normal business. There is no need to cancel trips to non-affected areas. And even some affected areas have some coastal hotels that escaped serious impact and are open for business.
If you have bookings in areas affected by the tidal surges, please contact your local travel agent for the latest news.
PATA head office has sent PATA Executive Mr Stephen Yong to Phuket to assess the impact on PATA members in southern Thailand. Mr Yong will draw up a priority list of assistance required by PATA members.
PATA is also carefully monitoring the situation in other impacted tourism destinations. Information flows have been hindered by loss of power and phone lines in some areas.
On the PATA Web site, PATA has hosted the following important information:-
- emergency contact numbers (tour operators, hotels, embassies etc)
- latest news updates affecting the travel sector on a country-by-country basis
- PATA media releases on the Indian Ocean crisis
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
