| Since the invention of the jet engine, the world | | | | thousands of people were employed, then tens of |
| has become a smaller place. Journeys that used | | | | thousands. Western tourism was a key element in |
| to take weeks by sea can be done in a single day | | | | lifting many countries out of poverty. Coming into |
| by air. For some years, the cost of flying kept it | | | | this century, everything was looking on track for |
| a very exclusive club but, as prices dropped, | | | | continuing growth and then a double whammy. |
| more people took to the air. When the really | | | | The global recession hit. People in the West |
| âbigâ planes started to get off | | | | suddenly found their credit drying up as banks ran |
| the ground, people could afford to go vast | | | | into trouble. Unemployment began to rise, and |
| distances for their holidays. Asia opened up as a | | | | foreclosures marked the end of the housing |
| tourist destination. Who could ask for more? | | | | bubble. People no longer had the same amount of |
| Spectacular scenery, fabulous beaches, exotic | | | | disposable income to spend on holidays. Add to |
| cuisine and great service from welcoming local | | | | this the political troubles. Demonstrations shut the |
| people. It was a marriage made in heaven and | | | | main airport into Thailand for a week. Terrorists |
| local economies in the East began to build their | | | | attacked Mumbai. The war in Sri Lanka flared into |
| resources. New hotels were erected, new resort | | | | new violence. Put all these together and you have |
| facilities carved out of the landscape. First, | | | | a recipe for a disaster. |