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Journalism of Courage
The tourism industry is bracing for a sudden end to the merriment, as travellers flee Tsunami-hit regions days before the grand finale of a hugely successful year.
‘‘This is the worst thing that could have happened to tourism after Sars,’’ said Deep Kalra, founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip.com, an online travel company.
As human and material losses mounted through Tuesday, the US and UK announced travel advisories. This, said travel and tour outfits, could further dent profitability.
The US has urged citizens to avoid Sri Lanka, Maldives and parts of Thailand until January 25.
The UK has warned against travel to the Maldives, Australia, coastal Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India (Andaman and Nicobar islands) and Malaysia.
‘‘Panic sets in after advisories, even if another tsunami is unlikely in the same places anytime forseeable. Insurance payments mean a lot to Western tourists, who lose their claims by traveling against advisories,’’ said the managing director of a leading Mumbai-based travel and tour firm. 2004 was an unexpected good year for tourism after last season’s Sars pandemic hit South Asia and South East Asia.
‘‘The advisories, issued by the US, UK and Australia, which send out the most tourists, could end this year’s travel season on a bitter note,’’ said Kalra.
Since Monday morning, 20 to 40 per cent of domestic visitors to coastal destinations and international passengers bound for South and South-East Asia have put off travel. The trend continues, said industry sources on Tuesday night.
‘‘The real problem may be with damaged hotels and other infrastructure in affected areas. But as far as we can tell today, Thailand is safe to visit. And so is India’s West coast,’’ said Cyrus Sarkari, general manager, products with Cox and Kings India.
But as the devastation count across the Bay of Bengal and Pacific rim nations, international airlines have also taken up relief operations for tourists, apart from their regular services in affected regions.
KLM, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and others launched emergency measures including ‘open’ flights to cater to emergencies, re-accommodating passengers who have lost their tickets without penalty and waived rebooking, reissue and cancellation charges.
Nevertheless, the tsunami makes for two bad years in a row for India, which had seen tourist inflows increase 27 per cent to 0.61 million in the first quarter and by 26 per cent in the first half, to nearly 1.5 million tourists.
