Britons hope for tourists' return

The chairs in Krabi remain empty since the tsunami

As Thailand continues to cope with the aftermath of the tsunami, two British people reliant on the tourist industry tell how they hope to continue living in the place they now call home.

For Frances Hill, 34, the high season was supposed to see the launch of her expanded business.

She and her husband had just finished three months of building a gift shop and cafe in Railay beach, Krabi.

The shop, selling local handicrafts, had been open for just five days when the tsunami struck on Boxing Day.

While not structurally damaged, the shop was flooded and stock soiled, but it was all repairable.

Ms Hill and her Thai husband have invested 2 million baht (£30,000) in the shop, and had signed a six-year lease on the land.

Everyone has lost their income - there is a total lack of tourists Frances Hill

Their plan was to earn enough over the Christmas and New Year period from the shop to buy equipment for the coffee shop.

Ms Hill had got as far as ordering the coffee machine - "but that's all at a standstill at the moment".

"We had to clean out the sand, mud and debris and wash everything so that it was nice again."

But while the shop has been repaired, the economic situation will take a long time to recover.

"Everybody here, both Thai and foreigners, are in a desperate situation. Everyone has lost their income. There is a total lack of tourists," she said.

Depression fears

Ms Hill had heard of some tourists, mainly Scandinavian, who had intended to stay a couple of weeks after Christmas but had been forced to leave or their insurance companies would not have supported claims.

"They were told there was a risk of disease, but the area is perfectly safe, the beaches have been cleaned, the climbing routes have been checked."

A lack of builders could delay reconstruction in Khao Lak

When asked if she would stay on the isolated island, which is accessible only by boat, Ms Hill said: "We don't have any choice.

"I've invested all my personal savings, borrowed money from my family back in England, and my husband has borrowed money from his family."

But she remains worried that if they cannot keep up the land rental payments, the landowners could lay claim to the shop and cafe buildings.

"[The tsunami] happened just at the beginning of the high season after everyone had just refurbished their businesses to get them ready for re-opening. Most people owe money because they hadn't earned enough yet to cover this type of thing happening.

"Everybody is hopeful that the tourists will return by February, but I'm worried that people will get depressed if they don't."

There is no way you can build it up again in just one season - for one thing there just aren't enough builders left Ian Robbins

The high season finishes by about Thai New Year in mid-April, but for fellow Briton Ian Robbins it could take a lot longer for a recovery.

The 41-year-old ex-bricklayer from Middlesbrough has been living in Thailand for four years and has no desire to return to the UK, a country he has not lived in for 12 years.

As an underwater videographer, his livelihood depends on tourists coming to enjoy the diving opportunities around Khao Lak.

"There's a couple of boats out today with about six customers, but there won't be a good high season for another two years.

'Devastated'

"There is no way you can build it up again in just one season - for one thing there just aren't enough builders left as the Burmese builders have been returned to Burma."

His job involved videoing tourists under water during the day and preparing DVDs of them for purchase in the evening.

He managed to salvage two cameras from his destroyed home, but the loss of his computer equipment has left him "devastated".

As he cleans the mud and sand from the DVD cases, he said that among other outgoings he had just paid one year's rent on a bungalow in December when the tsunami struck, so had had to pay another year's rent for another bungalow.

"I'll stay for another 18 months to try and help out as much as I can, and I do want to stay here. I've made my home here and I love it."