THE Boxing Day tsunami which claimed over 123,000 lives has prompted holiday companies to cancel flights to the region's devastated tourism spots. But could this latest disaster, hot on the heels of global terrorist attacks, signal a change in the way we plan our holiday destinations? Reporter ADRIAN WORSLEY finds out. . .

AS A shattered stream of holidaymakers made their weary way home from Thailand's devastated island Phuket this week, they would barely have noticed the handful of people going in the opposite direction.

But, to the amazement of many, tourists are still arriving in South East Asia this week, a matter of days after the fourth largest natural disaster in modern times.

As they head up into the highlands and inland resorts unaffected by the tragedy, they represent only a tiny minority of western tourists who are willing to travel so close to such a global disaster.

The bigger question is whether Brits will be willing to travel to far-flung corners of the world once the humanitarian aid effort has returned the region to some semblance of normality. And whether the tsunami, combined with September 11, the Bali bombing and this year's terrorist atrocity in Madrid, have changed the face of tourism forever.

The family of Edward White, 56 and wife Margaret, 67, from Darwen said their relatives fled from the beach when the tsunami struck Patong Beach in Phuket.

Edward's mother Agnes, 79, said his sister, Diane Lambert, who received a call from the couple three days after the disaster, has been put off travelling to South East Asia.

Agnes said: "Diane went to Phuket two years ago and she says she'd never go back. She's been put off for life after her brother's close scrape."

Newlyweds Matthew and Carla Toner visited Meeru Island in The Maldives on honeymoon in August this year.

Matthew of Darwen, said: "I was gobsmacked when I heard what had happened.

"My dad is supposed to be going to Sri Lanka in March. Now he is not sure what is going to happen but this wouldn't put me off going back.

"The Maldives is a fantastic place for a honeymoon. These things can happen anywhere but you can't let them stop you."

Some shoppers in Blackburn yesterday revealed they would be put off by recent events, while others were more philosophical.

Natalie McKay, 19, from Pleckgate, said: "From what I've seen out there I wouldn't go to that part of the world. If I had the money I would maybe visit Thailand or somewhere like that, but only in a few years."

Paul Leeper, 19, from Row Lee, said: "It's not just natural disasters - terrorism also puts me off going anywhere these days."

Jean Pritchard, 40, from Intack, said: "It's put me off travelling abroad, especially to South East Asia. It's like a bombsite at the moment and will be for some time."

Her husband Ian, 45, wasn't deterred however. He said: "What's happened is frightening but I would still go if the opportunity came along. Natural disasters do happen and it's just something you have to take into consideration."

East Lancashire holiday company My Travel's spokesman said: "Since the tsunami we have cancelled holidays that were due to fly to that region. All holidays to the Maldives - the only country that Airtours fly to in that part of the world - have been stopped until the new year.

"Past experience has shown that holiday zones tend to make quick recoveries from natural disasters and terrorist attacks."

While international flights have been on the increase for the last five years - even remaining unaffected by September 11, 2001 - residents in some countries have been more reluctant than others to travel abroad.

Americans for instance have become increasingly reluctant to fly out of US airspace. According to opinion polls taken last year, 55 per cent of Americans would not travel abroad, even if they had the time and money, while 17 per cent said the Iraq war made them less likely to fly.

However, war jitters and fears of terrorism and natural disasters have not put the British off. According to the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), the only change has been in the way we book holidays.

ABTA spokeswoman Francis Tuke explained: "There is usually an immediate impact in visitor numbers to areas that have suffered in some way.

"Once people get over the initial shock they usually return in similar numbers to before. There are exceptions of course, Bali's tourist industry may never recover from the bombing there in 2002. However, that is more down to the Foreign Office warning people to stay away than anything else.

"Elsewhere flights to New York, Washington, Madrid and anywhere else targeted by terrorism or natural disasters show no sign of tailing off.

"The only difference is in the way people book their trips. In the last two or three years people are leaving it later and later to book. There is an element of fear in that people are probably waiting to see if anything happens in a particularly sensitive region."

She added that the number of Brits travelling overseas had risen, year on year, since 2000.

"I know the Maldives are accepting visitors again from January 2. There are 56 island out of the 76 that were not hit by the tsunami and they want tourists to come back. More people are going on foreign holidays than ever and I don't see anything to change that."