BANGKOK, Dec. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- It will cost more than 20 billion baht (506 million US dollars) to rebuild and repair hotels in southern Thailand damaged during Sunday's Tsunamis.

    More than 20,000 hotel rooms which were damaged in the country's six southern provinces hit by tsunamis, including Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Trang, Ranong and Satun, need to be repaired, Tourism and Sports Minister Sontaya Kunplome was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying Thursday.

    This estimate is based on the projected average cost of one million baht (25,000 US dollars) to repair each room, Sontaya said.

    More than 200,000 people working in the tourist industry in thesix provinces have lost their jobs, he said.

    The government is working on immediate and long-term solutions to secure their employment, Sontaya said.

    According to the Federation of Thai Tourism Industry, 60 percent of hotels and tourist accommodation in the six provinces are still serviceable, he added.

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