''We are going to Phuket in June. We have been watching the news. But we haven't changed our minds about going. I can't wait to get there.'' - Adam from Las Vegas

PHUKET needs thousands more like Adam from Las Vegas if it is to survive and lead the recovery fightback for Thailand's entire tourism industry. That's what needs to happen now: a fightback.

And a fightback cannot be left indefinitely, until Bangkok returns to being a city of peace where the biggest worry is the traffic.

Phuket needs to get moving, to become energised. Phuket and the Andaman are still safe places for tourists to visit, which is why Phuket now needs to become the preferred destination for Thailand's many supporters around the globe.

The way for people who love Thailand to help now is to come for a holiday on Phuket, just the way they helped after the 2004 tsunami.

Phuket has direct flights, but if those direct flights stop for lack of customers, then the climb back for the entire country will be long and even more difficult.

The marketing message now should be: ''If you want peace in Thailand, come to Phuket.''

The fightback may have its beginnings among the expat community this Friday through the coincidental timing of an extraordinary meeting of four key groups at The Watermark at The Boat Lagoon.

The British Business Association of Phuket, the International Business Association of Phuket, the Australian-Thai business group AustCham and the Lighthouse Club Phuket Branch are to join forces for the first time to hold a combined networking event.

If a few thoughtful people from Thailand's tourism industry and key resort brands were also persuaded to attend, the meeting could well become the starting point to revitalise recovery for Phuket and Thailand.

Charities are important. but with urban warfare on the capital's streets, Phuket's charity needs to begin at home, and now.

The authorities in Bangkok will be saying that the 1.5 billion baht set aside to speed recovery will begin flowing once the shooting stops. But that will be too late.

By then, with cancellations flowing faster, Phuket's direct flights will have been seriously reduced.

The recovery has to begin from Monday, with Phuket's network of businesspeople and key resort brands springing into action, lobbying Bangkok, making the point that Phuket can provide the key to saving Thailand's tourism . . .

. . . but only if, before the fighting stops, the fightback begins. Pick up your telephone. Start Phuket's recovery now.

Everyone is welcome, whether members or non-members, to this networking evening at The Watermark in The Boat Lagoon on Friday May 21 from 5pm onwards. Canapes are free and drinks will be at Happy Hour prices until 8pm. E: secretary@ibap-phuket.org