Britons avoid Surat Thani after killing

SURAT THANI: -- The brutal rape and murder of 21-year-old Welsh student Katherine Horton on Koh Samui has caused a 30 per cent drop in the number of British tourists visiting Surat Thani province this year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

The TAT’s southern office director Pramote Sapyen said even though the crime was solved quickly and two fishermen convicted and sentenced to death, it was obvious the incident had affected tourism.

The case was heavily reported in the United Kingdom, and that had frightened tourists, with more than 30 per cent cancelling their trips to Koh Samui and Koh Pha-ngan during the high season.

“This will affect overall tourism for the year as normally 150,000 British tourists visit Thailand a year. A tourist stays on average one week and spends Bt4,000-Bt5,000 a day,” Pramote said.

On that basis, the two islands had lost between Bt100 million and Bt150 million in income.

Initially, the tragic incident had also affected tourists from other countries such as the Netherlands, but the situation had since improved. Asian tourists were still travelling to the region as usual.

Ruangnam Jaikwang, president of Surat Thani’s Tourism Association, said it would take some time for the situation to return to normal. It was important for tourism companies to cooperate with police officers for the safety of tourists, he said.

Surat Thani provincial police chief Maj-General Voravate Vinitnatyanon said police have been planning stricter safety measure to prevent crime and are assigning officers who speak English to warn tourists about going to risky places.

Anan Chusak, president of the province’s fisherman’s association, said the brutal crime had given fishing boat crews a bad image and the association had urged boat owners to be more careful about who they hire.

--The Nation 2006-01-30