Phuket Beach

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Phuket is formerly known as Talang, a southern province of Thailand with no land boundaries. Phuket is approximately the size of Singapore and considered as Thailand’s largest island. Phuket formerly derived its wealth from tin and rubber. Presently, Phuket derives much of its income from their tourism.

On December 26, 2004, Phuket and other nearby areas on Thailand's western coast suffered extensive damage when they were struck by the Boxing Day tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The waves destroyed several highly populated areas in the region, killing as many as 5,300 people nationwide and tens of thousands more throughout the wider Asian region. Almost all the major beaches on the west coast, especially Kamala, Patong, Karon and Kata, sustained major damage, with some damage also being caused to resorts and villages on the island's southern beaches. After the said tsunami, a new strategy for tourism was presenting of behalf of the Royal Thai Government by Mrs. Juthamas Siriwan, governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand, during her speech at the press conference held in Phuket last week. More than 1.000 travel editors, and tour agents were invited by the Royal Thai Government and Thai Airways to inspect the areas of the country and to confirm that most of the areas are open and in operation. The Thai government has appointed 9 sub-committees that are responsible to provide relief and aid recovery from the loss of lives, property, homes, businesses, jobs, and prosperity. Thailand's speedy recovery strategies have impressed the world. They witnessed images of Thai soldiers and volunteers helping families reunite, recovering damaged property, and even helping them rebuild their homes. The government has approved tax measures to offer relief to affected businesses. The Bank of Thailand is offering soft loans to assist entrepreneurs affected by this disaster through commercial banks. The government has also established the Tsunami SME Fund...