Maldives ready for holidays by weekend

Last updated at 11:16 29 December 2004


British tourists could be holidaying again on the tsunami-hit Maldives islands by the weekend.

Tour operators are considering flights to the Indian Ocean destination, the Association of British Travel Agents (Abta) said.

'We have heard from hoteliers that some resorts in the Maldives are unaffected and thought is being given to having flights there this weekend,' said Abta spokeswoman Frances Tuke.

She added that holiday companies were also considering switching clients due to travel to the wrecked Thailand resort of Phuket to other resorts within the country.

Ms Tuke went on: 'Obviously, it's going to be some time before people are going to be able to travel again to the worst-hit areas.

'But people returning home have spoken of the kindness and sympathy shown them by local people and one way they can repay them is to return when possible and boost tourism in these hard-hit places.

'At the moment, people's reaction to this disaster has been mixed. Some are keen to travel but others are understandably wary of visiting these areas.'

Ms Tuke continued: 'I think these areas will recover and it's important that UK tourism helps build local economies again. It could be that with people unable to go to certain areas, other parts of the world will benefit.

'The Caribbean, for instance, could well see an increase in numbers and there could be a rise in tourism to places such as Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.'

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