European tour operators plan to restart offering exotic holidays in countries stricken by the tsunamis that devastated parts of Asia.
"There is no better way to help the people of this region than to go take vacations there," the president of the French Association of Tour Operators, Rene-Marc Chikli, said in a newspaper interview published Tuesday.
Departures for the stricken zones are to start January 16, Chikli told the daily France-Soir.
"This is the best way to show our solidarity. It's more useful than humanitarian aid," Chikli was quoted as saying, suggesting that the tourism dollars can help renew the economies of the stricken countries.
"A Thai who works feeds and helps an entire family live," he added.
Nearly 140,000 people are known to have died in the tsunamis that struck Asia and parts of Africa.
Italian tour operators also encouraged travelers to return to the region.
"Italian tourists contribute to the income of these zones, so it is important to let them return," said Francesco Granese, director of tour operator group Assotravel.
He said Italian tourism to the region affected by the quake had so far been limited to the Maldives and northern and eastern coasts of Thailand, but hoped package tours to other quake-struck areas would start up soon.
"Since these countries are asking for tourists to return, we think that it will be possible to reopen all routes within about two weeks," he said.
Granese said his group was following advice on travel to the region offered by the Foreign Ministry, which removed a warning against traveling to the Maldives last week.
A note posted on the ministry's Web site Tuesday still advised against travel to Indonesia, southeastern India, and areas of Thailand directly affected by the December 26 quake.
Granese said around 5,000 Italians take package tours to the region each week, with 1,500 choosing the Maldives. He said Italian tour operators had lost an estimated €100 million ($134 million) following the quake.
Frances Tuke, a spokeswoman for the Association of British Travel Agents, said while there were still areas of Asia which remained badly affected, travel agents were encouraging Britons to visit other areas.
"Apart from those areas (the west coast of Thailand, coastal areas of Sri Lanka and some islands of the Maldives) travel is possible and we are telling people to go," Tuke said.
"It's absolutely vitally important that we try to minimize the impact of the tsunami. By staying away we just increase the impact for these people."
Tuke said many Britons who had planned trips to the region had canceled in the wake of the tsunami, with flights to the Maldives over the weekend just half their capacity.
She said British tour operators and travel agents would launch a marketing campaign to attract Britons back to the region, but it would be done gradually and in a sensitive way.
By: N. Peter Kramer
