Tourism industry in the aftermath of the Tsunami: the case of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Commentary

This paper examines issues related to the tourism industry of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI) of India in the aftermath of the tsunami. International aid agencies and the media were not allowed after tsunami to do either the news coverage or the aid works in the worst affected Nicobar Islands, which has forbidden the outside world to know more about the full-scale devastations. The impact of the tsunami on the ANI tourism industry and lives of the tourism-dependent poor community is enormous. Prior to the disaster, the total tourism arrival figures for 2004 were expected to exceed 120,000, boosting not only the tourism industry but also allied sectors such as the local souvenir sellers and hundreds of small firms. The tsunami is expected to have a substantial impact on these arrival figures in 2005, and beyond. The earlier sections of the paper give an overview of the status of tourism in the pre-tsunami stage, whilst the latter part concentrates on the impacts of the tsunami. The paper is based on secondary sources, personal communications and earlier research studies, and the personal observations of the author who has visited the islands frequently since 2001.