NOW that most of the Shanghai residents who were caught up in the massive Indian Ocean tsunami have returned home safely, the influence of the calamity on the local tourism market is becoming clearer.

Travel agencies report a decrease in the number of tourists interested in travelling to Southeast and South Asian countries while predicting a rise in visits to those coastal resorts which escaped the catastrophe, such as Singapore and China's Hainan Island during the Spring Festival vacation.

Though the tsunami death toll is still climbing, Shen Jun was not planning to cancel his visit to Samui Island, in Southeast Thailand, during his vacation.

"Samui Island is located in the Pacific Ocean, rather than the Indian Ocean area where the tragedy happened," said Shen. But Shen said he would not go to Phuket Island in fear of possible outbreak of plague.

Phuket Island, a famous tourist attraction in Thailand, was on the list of tourist spots devastated by the earthquake-driven tidal waves that swept southern Asia.

"All the tours heading to resorts stricken by the disaster have been cancelled now," said He Jing, manager of the public relations department for Ctrip.com International Ltd, a major online travel agency in China.

Besides Phuket Island, Phi Phi Island in Thailand, Male Island in the Maldives and Penang Island in Malaysia are now unavailable to tourists due to the disaster.

"As for our company, more than half of the travellers that cancelled their previous trips to the disaster areas have chosen other destinations in the South Asian region, such as the Philippines or Singapore," He added.

Shortly after the tsunami, four local travel agencies formed a coalition to promote package tours to Singapore, with the aim of attracting tourists originally planning to visit the affected South Asian countries, according to the Oriental Morning Post.

"After the tsunami, travellers registered for trips to Singapore increased 20 per cent over the figure from previous years," said Lin Liming, spokesman for the four travel agencies.

Industry insiders say that although areas like Singapore were not hit by the tsunami, the calamity might intimidate tourists away from these coastal resorts too.

"Tourists may fear possible aftershocks in the area as well as plagues in neighbouring areas," said Chen Suiqin, deputy general manager of Shanghai-based China Travel Service Corp.

Analysts say Hainan, the second largest island in China, may be the main alternative for domestic travellers previously planning to visit tropical Southeast and South Asia.

"Hainan also boasts warm tropical weather and it makes a good alternative for travellers willing to spend their vacation in Southeast and South Asia," said Zhu Husheng, manager of the Domestic Department of Shanghai-based Spring International Travel Agency.

In previous years, a trip to Hainan during the Spring Festival vacation often doubles in cost compared to the low season, since no discounts on air tickets and accommodation are offered during the period.

"A tour to Hainan may cost even more during this Spring Festival period,'' said Zhu. "The increase in the number of travellers might lever up accommodation prices even further.''