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The Dec. 26 tsunami still has negative effect on the world's tourism with international travel to some destinations being washed out, a recent report shows.
Among all travelers, Japanese and Korean tourists lost interest not for tsunami-affected destinations such as Phuket, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, but also the Asian region as a whole, said the Post-Tsunami Global Travel Intentions Research Report .
Of the 13,256 travelers polled in 10 countries, 52 percent said their travel plans to affected countries had not been changed because of the tsunami, while 30 percent admitted they were deterred from visiting disaster-affected tourist sites.
The report, commissioned by World Tourism Organization and VisaAsia-Pacific, revealed that some 49 percent Japanese and 60 percent Koreans were less likely to travel in Asia, and 54 percent Japanese and 63 percent Korean travelers were less likely to visit tsunami-hit countries.
The study shows the tidal waves' impact on Asian tourism varies considerably by market, James Murray, executive vice president of Southeast Asia for Visa Asia-Pacific was quoted by The Nation newspaper as saying on Friday.
Tourists in some countries are more afraid and resistant to travel to tsunami-affected countries, while others seem much more impervious and supportive, he said.
Tourism industries in Asian countries need to adopt certain approaches to address the main concern of their target markets, said James.
(Xinhua News Agency March 11, 2005)
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