40% cancel Asian holiday

As southern India and Southeast Asia grapple with the aftermath of Sunday's tsunami, which killed around 118,000 people, several popular destinations have taken a hit, with tourist traffic heading elsewhere.

Around 40 per cent of scheduled inbound travellers across the region have scratched their plans in favour of destinations such as Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia, Europe and northern India.

While Thailand has reported around 80 per cent cancellations, in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Maldives it is almost 100 per cent. In India's case, around 20 per cent of incoming foreign traffic "" primarily to Goa, Kerala and Tamil Nadu "" have made other arrangements.

Confirming this development, Ankur Bhatia, chairman of Amadeus, a software company that keeps tabs on travel data, told Business Standard: "Cancellations are increasing by the day. However, a recovery is expected by January 15. Resorts and hotels damaged by the tsunami will take considerable time to recover."

Lalith Sheth, chairman, Raj Travels, claimed business had by and large remained unaffected because tour operators had managed to sell new packages to clients who called up to cancel their travel plans to the tsunami affected regions.

Rupen Vikamsey, business development manager, Orbit Tours and Trade Fairs, said: "Overall, domestic tourism has gained considerably on account of the tsunami. Most travellers have now switched to domestic destinations while the rest have shown an inclination to travel to other international destinations such as Australia and Dubai."

Domestic destinations that are in demand are Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. "Kashmir continues to be the most popular destination among tourists for summer," Vikamsey said.