WTO’s tsunami action plan

Representatives from more than three dozen countries have reportedly been planning what they are describing as “the mother of all advertising campaigns” in an effort to stimulate tourism in Asia following the Boxing Day tsunami. According to The Times, the World Tourism Organisation’s emergency summit in Thailand is aimed at bringing back one of the region’s “most critical sources of wealth” – and has considered giving away free airline tickets to stimulate demand. The newspaper reports that following more talks today, the conference will issue what is being called the “Phuket Action Plan”, demanding “a barrage of advertising drives around the world that will allay any fears over continuing risks, such as disease, of travelling to affected countries”. There is, however, disagreement over the implementation of an early warning system for the region, to prevent such a huge-scale disaster if another tsunami should strike. The Times reports that Thailand has offered to base such a project in Bangkok, but that India and Indonesia have rejected the offer, wanting to host warning centres themselves. Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd