The founder of SpringBreakRelief.org, Benjamin Brigham, is a graduate student at the University
of Washington's School of Marine Affairs, studying the effects of the
December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. After touring many communities
that were hit by the tsunami on the
Flight of Friendship, A Journey to Save Jobs,
he returned to Seattle with a mission to inject $1 Million in tourism
revenue into three communities whose economy has been devastated by the tragedy.
During the Flight of Friendship, Brigham traveled to Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi, and Khao Lak and talked with officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, U.S. Embassy, Thai Foreign Ministry, Phuket Island and Krabi Province. He also talked with many people who rely on tourism revenue to survive. The message from all of these people was the same: 'We don't want hand outs or charity, we want to work. Please come back to Thailand.'
Brigham saw an opportunity for college students in the United States to be humanitarian tourists, delivering a message of hope to the people whose lives have been forever changed by that fateful December morning.
Physical Impacts
Many resort communities in Thailand were hit by the tsunami; however, most suffered only minor damage. After a quick restoration, the communities are now pleading for tourists to return. Marine biologists have indicated that the water quality after the tsunami is actually better than before the tsunami due to the influx of deep-water nutrients and flushing effect on the near-shore waters.
Communities which sustained major damage
The front street in Patong, Phuket's main destination, is busy with construction, while locals are rebuilding the shops; however, the beach itself is in pristine condition and all of the hotels and shops off the front street are open and show no signs of damage.
Khao Lak, approximately an hour and a half away from Patong, sustained the worst damage and experienced the majority of causalities. Vunsadej Thavarasukha, the Director of The Tourism Authority of Thailand's South Asia and South Pacific Region, indicates that it will probably take two years to return Khao Lak until the community is fully prepared to welcome travelers.
One side of Phi Phi Don Island, which is next to Phi Phi Lei Island (where the Leonardo DiCaprio film The Beach was filmed), also sustained heavy damage. According to Saichalee Varnapruk, the Director of TAT's International Markets Development Division, the side of Phi Phi Island untouched by the tsunami is currently welcoming guests, while side of the island which sustained heavy damage will be fully recovered in approximately 6 months. There is a tremendous amount of cleanup still to be done in and around Tonsai Bay, which is where volunteers for this project will help.
The rest of Thailand's many coastal destinations are open for business. With the physical infrastructure in excellent condition, the communities are fully prepared to accommodate tourists.
Economic Impacts
As the images of destruction were looped over and over again following the tsunami, the cancellations flooded Thailand's tourism destinations. While there is no denying the enormous damage caused by the greatest catastrophe in the history of the modern world, the geographic extent of the damage was misperceived by the public, which spurred many tourists to cancel vacation plans to destinations in Thailand which were entirely unaffected. The result of this misperception is an economic tsunami that is bearing down on the people of coastal destinations around Thailand; most of whom rely on tourism revenue to survive and feed their families.
Thailand's tourism industry, employs over 200,000 people and represents 6% of Thailand's GDP. Every year approximately 10 million people visit Thailand, spending roughly 7 billion dollars. (PATA Annual Statistical Report, 2003)
Booking rates for hotels in Phuket Island and Krabi Province are currently between 10% and 30% of capacity, while normal rates for this time of year are between 80% and 100% for these same destinations. While officials and businesses alike expect tourists to return next season, many are worried that without immediate business, they won't be able survive the wait.
Survivor's Stories
All of the pictures on this page are from Khao Lak only and do not represent the majority of Thailand's beach destination
From a young girl who works on the beach at Patong on Phuket Island:
She was working on the beach at Patong, on Phuket Island. When the wave hit, she was held underwater for some time. Terrified, she gripped her Buddha necklace and thought, 'I can't die now, my son..." (I found out later that she has a 3 year old son) She swallowed seawater, which she said was terrible and full of debris, before breaking to the surface. She was being swept back toward the shops along the front street of Patong, when she grabbed on to an ATM stand, which started shocking her, so she let go. Next she was swept into the kitchen of a restaurant, where she was pounded by pots and pans as the wave pushed through the building. As the water filled the room, some tourists grabbed her carried her onto the roof. She and her family survived the tsunami, so she is very thankful; however, listening to her tell the story, it was clear that she had experienced something so traumatic that she will never forget that morning. This girl uses her scooter, which was damaged in the tsunami, to troll the front beach street in Patong for tourists to recruit for the timeshare presentations. Apparently many of the vendors were given financial assistance to repair their vehicles; however, this girl wasn't able to get that for some reason, which she tried to explain to me but I didn't understand. She was from Burma and her father in Burma sent her the $500 to repair her scooter, so she's back in business.
From a hotel owner in Ao Nang, Krabi Province:
She has a friend who has spent his life's savings and many years building a small hotel on the beach for his daughter. The hotel was recently finished and scheduled to open on December 28. The man's daughter was on the cover of the recently-completed literature, and he was very proud because his daughter looked so beautiful, like a model he was told. This man's family was all gathered at the hotel for the grand opening. On Sunday morning, December 26, he went to town to get something. While he was gone, the tsunami struck, taking his entire family. He has no insurance and is around 70 years old. This was perhaps the hardest story for me to hear.
From a woman in her 60's or 70's giving massages on Karon Beach on Phuket Island:
When the Flight of Friendship arrived at Karon Beach, on Phuket Island, many of the local vendors were getting the first business in some time. After this woman and her three partners had spent over four hours working on members of our group, she reported that we were her first customers in 10 days.
From the owner of a longtail boat trip business in Krabi Province:
This young man was able to smile while telling me his story, which was amazing to me. Two of his three boats were completely destroyed and the other was badly damaged. He told me how in one of his boats, the tourists were on shore, but his driver, who survived with injuries, was on the boat and was launched up through the trees, while the wooden boat was crushed by the force of the wave crashing it against the trees. In another one of his boats, everyone was in the boat, which was not near shore, when it was struck by the tsunami. One of the tourists was a surfer, and knew to swim under the wave; however, his pregnant wife was never found. The driver of this boat was lost.
From the owner of a newly-opened restaurant in Phuket Town on Phuket Island:
She had just opened on December 24. We were the only customers in the restaurant both times we visited. Her best friend had come through for the grand opening, on her way to Khao Lak. She asked her friend to stay for a few days, but her friend went on to Khao Lak, where she was lost in the tsunami. The food at her restaurant was amazing and I hope she will be able to weather the economic tsunami currently pounding beach destinations around Thailand.
From a taxi driver in Karon Beach on Phuket Island:
This man had seen coverage of the tsunami in other areas before heading down to the beach with his taxi (it hit other areas some time before it hit Thailand's beaches). He said the water all sucked out and the Japanese tourists were all running for the hills, while others were mesmerized by the low tide and creatures it revealed. He was yelling for people to head for high ground and headed up the hill in his taxi. He said it was approximately three minutes between the time the water sucked out and when the first wave came crashing in. He saw the destruction from high ground. His family lived in the hills outside of Karon Beach.
From the activity director at the Holiday Inn Resort, Phi Phi Island:
He was waiting on the small pier on the North West side of the Island for the longtail driver to return from the ferry pier in Tonsai Bay with guests when the friend he was waiting with saw the tsunami approaching and told him to run. While his friend was a much faster runner, that would be the last time he saw this friend. As he ran up the hill behind them, the wave picked him up and tossed him over the hill about 30 meters, where it dropped him in a swimming pool. Although he was badly injured, with internal bleeding, he could only think of his wife and four-year-old daughter as he struggled to surface for air. He was able to get to the surface and crawl back to the Holiday Inn Resort, which was sheltered by the hill, where he was airlifted to the hospital about 4 hours later. Three months later, he was able to return to work, which was two days before the second Indian Ocean earthquake...
The longtail boat driver was in Lohdalum Bay, which forms the isthmus on the opposite side of Tonsai Bay, when all of the water disappeared and his boat was suddenly grounded. Then came the wave and picked him up out of the longtail boat, carrying him on top of the water several hundred yards to the resorts on the isthmus. He was still riding on the top of the wave, when he saw a swimming pool appraching. He dove down into the swimming pool to escape the wave. When he surfaced, he recognized one of the hotel's longtail boats and was waving frantically for the boat to pick him up until he realized that there was no one in the boat. He survived with only minor injuries and was back to work in a couple weeks.
