Work has already started on repairing damaged hotels

And for those reliant on the tourist industry in devastated areas, there is a dilemma. To get tourists back, repairs need to be done quickly. But repairs are difficult to pay for with tourists not bringing in foreign currency.

Su Wan is one of those facing uncertainty, the owner of part of a hotel in Phuket and a guesthouse and restaurant in Phuket's Kamala beach.

Daughter Sophia said: "The ground floor [of the hotel] was smashed, damaged quite a lot.

"We are not sure how much it will cost to repair but it is quite a lot. We don't have insurance. Most of the owners don't.

"At the moment it is completely evacuated. Nobody can stay there.

Tourists have headed inland and to unaffected beaches

"We will try to get it fixed as soon as possible so we can get people to return.

"The guest house and restaurant is right on front of the water. Everything is gone in the rooms.

"But some tourists have already asked when it is going to open. My mother thinks people will come back."

The British Foreign Office is currently warning against all but essential travel to the affected areas of Sri Lanka, its eastern and southern coasts and south-west coast.

It also warns against travel to major tourist areas in Thailand including Phuket and Krabi.

The spectre of serious outbreaks of disease remains with water shortages, problems with sewerage and disposal of the dead.

The Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand were all tipped to boom in 2005 by the Association of British Travel Agents - but not now.

There is still the danger of disease

But many tourists decided against flying home from Thailand, instead continuing their holiday inland or on unaffected beaches.

Andy Pugh is one of those determined to finish his holiday, and says he has encountered many other tourists who have chosen to stay.

He was in a boat, ready to snorkel, off Phi Phi island, made famous by The Beach, and did not realise the destruction until he saw the wounded being evacuated.

"There were people with lacerations, a woman with a broken arm, and people with cuts and bruises."

His return to Phuket saw more chaos.

"The place was just a like a war zone. It looked like Baghdad or somewhere. All you could see were destroyed buildings, piles of rubble. Even the roads had been swept away."

I think that in a country that relies on tourism so much you should still visit. Obviously, if I had plans to go down to the coast I would have changed them Holidaymaker Stephanie Sledge-Hardt Tourists face a moral dilemma

But he has decided to stay on until 14 January and pays tribute to the Thais' efforts to restore their battered coast.

"The damage is mainly restricted to the seafront areas. There are piles of dirt, and wrecked buildings and cars. But a lot of the storm damage has been cleared away."

"I have been reading reports that Phuket had been destroyed, but it is not true. Thousands of people have lost their lives, which is very sad.

"But the damage to Puget is not as bad as I have been reading. The damage is confined to the beach area, the town itself is untouched.

"It's amazing how quickly the Thais are managing to tackle the damage and get back on their feet."

Geoff Starr, from London, works in a dive shop in Phi Phi and is equally resolute about staying.

"I was lucky. My bungalow was unaffected. But I've got injuries on my feet. I was stretchering people without shoes on the whole day."

"Some people are hanging around, some have flown home or to Australia. Phi Phi is decimated.

I've been left close to tears by British people ringing and saying they would visit. The support of the British people is unbelievable Charmarie Maelge, director of the Sri Lanka tourist board in London

"But there are people apparently still on holiday on some of the beaches. A couple of beaches were just not affected and it is business as usual.

"A lot of local people have gone back to their home provinces. They are homeless, with no business any more. Things will sort themselves out though."

The Thai and Sri Lankan authorities know they must use the plucky stayers-on as the first step to recovery. The economic stakes are too high for failure to be an option.

ABTA says that in 2002, 560,000 Britons travelled to Thailand.

In Sri Lanka, tourism is the country's fourth largest generator of foreign currency, and burgeoning after the ceasefire with the rebel Tamils.

Charmarie Maelge, director of the Sri Lanka tourist board in London, said: "I've been left close to tears by British people ringing and saying they would visit. The support of the British people is unbelievable".

Sri Lanka had 93,600 visitors from the UK in 2003, she said, and would be fighting harder than ever to make sure they returned in 2005.