The deadly December 26 tsunamis will have a minimal impact on a booming global sector, but swift action is needed to ensure people in devastated areas do not suffer a second economic disaster, the WTO secretary general said.

"It is important to take action aimed at ensuring that tourism flows recover as quickly as possible, in order to alleviate the suffering of the affected populations," Francesco Frangialli told representatives of more than 40 countries and international organisations gathered for a day of talks.

"We must rapidly restore jobs and hope... A quick return to living conditions and professional activity that are as close to normal as possible constitutes the best form of aid."

The 29 members of the WTO's executive council is set to consider a plan of action in response to the worst natural disaster to hit the global tourism industry which was drafted by its emergency task force on Monday.

Frangialli said the WTO could help countries reposition their offerings, such as by making them less reliable on beach tourism, training staff to replace those killed in the disaster and putting out information on the situation in damaged destinations.

David Beirman, author of "Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis", who is representing Israel at the talks, told AFP that misplaced fears among tourists represented a challenge.

"Whenever there is a crisis event, whether it be terrorism, war or a natural disaster or epidemic, the first thing which is a problem affecting a lot of countries is that it is perceived as a very dangerous destination," he said.

"So our greatest challenge is to expose the truth."

The tourism industries of Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives were worst hit among the 11 Indian Ocean nations smashed by the sea walls that killed more than 283,000 people in the region.

According to the Pacific Asia Travel Association, Asia's main travel trade body, 283 out of 6,639 hotels in Thailand were damaged or destroyed compared to 49 out of 246 in Sri Lanka and 21 out of 84 in the Maldives.

The WTO expects the sector to recover quickly in 2005, given a spectacular rebound in global tourism overall last year, when arrivals soared by 10 percent to 760 million, according to figures it released Monday.

Beirman too said the industry had become more resilient after repeated crises that have hammered it since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

"What used to happen, even three years ago, was that you'd have a crisis and everyone would panic," he said. "People aren't panicking so much about it any more. They're working out solutions."

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was to address the gathering later Tuesday, which includes more than a dozen tourism ministers from around the world.

The meeting is being held on Phuket, which suffered damage to some beaches, to highlight that most resorts remain operational, although occupancy rates have plunged to as little as 10 percent.

Thailand suffered the highest number of deaths of foreigners among affected countries, with 1,948 believed to be among the 5,393 confirmed killed in the kingdom.