This report presents an assessment of vulnerability to the 2004 tsunami of Khao Lak in Phang Nga Province, the worst affected Thai tourism destination in terms of physical damage and lives lost.

Identifying and understanding the factors that contributed to the community’s vulnerability to the tsunami provides the foundational knowledge needed to develop and apply effective resilience building strategies for Khao Lak and other tourism communities.

This destination vulnerability assessment of the tourism community of Khao Lak reveals that the community’s resilience to the tsunami is bolstered by strong family networks and loyal clientele, active and strong community leaders and tourism representative bodies, and resourceful and adaptive entrepreneurs.

Yet there are still areas for improvement pertaining to governance structures and processes, infrastructure provisions, credit availability and low insurance levels, limited marketing support and disaster preparedness.

To address these issues, 10 recommendations are proposed that aim to build long-term resilience against future shocks by enhancing Khao Lak’s existing strengths and reducing its vulnerabilities.


Download the project report (PDF: 2.28MB)