WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI: Some UK holiday companies will not be offering packages to the worst of the tsunami-hit areas until the beginning of April at the earliest, it has been decided.
Most tour operators decided to extend the ban on trips to coastal areas of Sri Lanka from the end of January until the end of February, with some opting not to arrange charter trips before the end of March.
While some companies are offering holidays to parts of the Thai island resort of Phuket from next month, others will not be operating to the worst-hit areas of Thailand until Foreign Office advice changes and until tour operators consider it all right to go.
The Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives, which emerged relatively unscathed from the Boxing Day disaster, have been operating fairly normally tourist-wise.
The UK's Federation of Tour Operators (FTO) said that those scheduled to depart to the Maldives until January 31 could opt for alternative holidays or get a full refund if they do so before Saturday, January 15. From February 1, departures to unaffected areas will be subject to normal booking conditions.
Holidays to the non-coastal areas of Sri Lanka and Thailand, as well as scheduled services, are carrying on as normal.
FTO spokesman Graham Lancaster said: "Bookings to the region are down with even Maldives numbers dropping to start with, although they are now picking up again."
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