Tourism plea
The week's news at a glance.
Phuket, Thailand
As the tsunami death toll topped 170,000 this week, officials from the stricken countries pleaded for tourists to return. Officials from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand said that tourists had been reluctant to visit this month, partly out of fear of being thought insensitive, and partly because they don’t want to encounter distressing scenes. Both fears are unjustified, the officials said. Many resorts are on coasts that weren’t hit at all, while some of those that were engulfed have already reopened. And locals are eager to get the economy back on track. “People will achieve a lot more by going back as tourists than by putting a couple of bucks in a collection box,” said Tony Smith of the Thailand Tourist Authority.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published