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Destinations known | Summer of disaster: from Indonesia to Thailand, how top tourist destinations in Southeast Asia have suffered in 2018
Tragedy and natural disaster have wreaked havoc across the region, and the tourism industry has not escaped lightly
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Summer 2018 has been an eventful one, not least for some of Southeast Asia’s top tourist destinations, which have endured more than their fair share of tragedy and turmoil.
On August 5, the Indonesian island of Lombok was hit by a second deadly earthquake in less than a week, this one killing at least 108 people, according to state-owned Antara News Agency, and sparking a desperate search for survivors and a mass exodus of tourists.
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That followed the Phoenix boat disaster on July 5, in Phuket, in which 47 Chinese nationals lost their lives. In the wake of the accident, as many as 600,000 Chinese tourists cancelled July trips to Thailand, reported The Phuket News. According to the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, this represents a 37-billion-baht (US$1.1 billion) loss of revenue and a 26 per cent reduction in arrivals from China, compared with the same period last year.
Officials predict the downturn to continue throughout August, with as many as 930,000 Chinese visitors staying away, although many have suggested it could have been worse. Coverage of the tragedy was largely eclipsed by the feel-good story of the summer – the Tham Luang cave rescue.
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Elsewhere in Thailand, the closure of Maya Bay on June 1led to a dramatic decline in tourism revenues at Nopparat Thara Beach-Phi Phi Islands National Park, in Krabi province. According to an August 3 article in the Bangkok Post, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) estimates a loss of almost 57 million baht from June to July.
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