Comparative Destination Vulnerability Assessment for Thailand and Sri Lanka

The report examines six case study destinations—Khao Lak, Patong, and Phi Phi Don in Thailand; and Hikkaduwa, Anuradhapura, and Kataragama in Sri Lanka—to identify drivers of tourism system vulnerability. It introduces a Destination Sustainability Framework (DSF) to analyze how exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive responses interact with socio-political contexts. Findings indicate that established destinations with diversified markets and strong institutional networks, such as Patong, recovered more quickly than newer or more isolated sites like Khao Lak and Phi Phi Don. In Sri Lanka, recovery was hampered by the civil conflict and weak local governance. The report concludes that resilience is strengthened by diversified livelihoods, robust social networks, and strong public-private collaboration, while it is undermined by corruption, poor infrastructure, and social exclusion of minority groups.

• The 2004 tsunami caused severe economic and human losses in Thailand and Sri Lanka, with Thailand seeing an estimated infrastructural loss of USD 341 million and Sri Lanka facing projected output losses of US$130 million over the following two years.
• Recovery speeds varied significantly among Thai destinations; Patong recovered rapidly due to lower damage and strong collaboration, with 90 per cent of hotel rooms available within three weeks, whereas Khao Lak's recovery was slower, with only 800 of 5,312 rooms available by the 2005/06 high season.
• Destination resilience is enhanced by specific factors including reinforced concrete building types, diversified livelihood portfolios, strong destination branding, and access to liquid financial assets and established credit histories.
• Micro and small enterprises were the most vulnerable due to limited access to credit, low insurance coverage, and a lack of financial reserves, often relying on high-interest loans from private creditors.
• Burmese migrant workers in Thailand faced extreme vulnerability due to illegal status, which prevented access to banking and humanitarian aid and left them subject to police harassment and employer abuse.
• Governance weaknesses, including corruption, lack of local government capacity, and poor coordination between departments, consistently hindered the implementation of development plans and the equitable distribution of aid across all studied destinations.
• In Sri Lanka, the civil conflict acted as a long-term stressor that deterred international tourists and caused financial hardship for entrepreneurs in Anuradhapura and Kataragama, even after the 2002 peace agreement.
• Environmental degradation, caused by sub-standard waste-water treatment and poor garbage disposal, was a pre-existing vulnerability in Patong, Phi Phi, and Hikkaduwa that continues to threaten long-term tourism sustainability.
• The installation of the Tsunami Early Warning System in Thailand improved perceived safety, but its effectiveness is undermined by stolen equipment, irregular signage, and a lack of community disaster preparedness training.

APA

Calgaro, E., & Cochrane, J. (2009). Comparative Destination Vulnerability Assessment for Thailand and Sri Lanka. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Sustainable-livelihoods/thailand sri lanka destination vulnerability assessment.pdf

Chicago

Calgaro, Emma, and Janet Cochrane. Comparative Destination Vulnerability Assessment for Thailand and Sri Lanka. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2009. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Sustainable-livelihoods/thailand sri lanka destination vulnerability assessment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Calgaro |first1=Emma |last2=Cochrane |first2=Janet |title=Comparative Destination Vulnerability Assessment for Thailand and Sri Lanka |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=December 2009 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Sustainable-livelihoods/thailand sri lanka destination vulnerability assessment.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{calgaro2009comparative, author = {Calgaro, Emma and Cochrane, Janet}, title = {{Comparative Destination Vulnerability Assessment for Thailand and Sri Lanka}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2009}, month = dec, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Sustainable-livelihoods/thailand sri lanka destination vulnerability assessment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }