Thailand to CLOSE one of its most famous beaches and popular tourist attractions

 

 

One of Thailand’s most famous beaches and popular tourist attractions is to close, officials confirmed on Wednesday.

 

Maya Bay, located on Koh Phi Phi Leh, will be closed to all visitors from June in a bid to halt environmental damage caused by the huge number of tourists who visit each day.

 

Plans to close Maya Bay were first proposed earlier this year, but on Wednesday officials from the Thailand’s National Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed the closure.

 

Currently around 4,000 tourists visit Maya Bay each day. However, when the beach reopens in September, the number of visitors allowed will be limited to 2,000 per day and boats will not be allowed to anchor at the beach, instead docking on floating piers located off the island.

 

Many of Thailand’s beaches which are located in national parks close between May and October.

 

However, Maya Bay, which was made famous for its starring role in the Leonardo Di Caprio movie “The Beach” has always remained open year round.

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-03-29

All those boats in the picture is an enviromental crime in my view!....talk about spoiling it for everyone so the wanna be yuppies can pretend to be upper class......good first move to ban anchoring

4 minutes ago, Nasrullah said:

All those boats in the picture is an enviromental crime in my view!....talk about spoiling it for everyone so the wanna be yuppies can pretend to be upper class......good first move to ban anchoring

Fully agree

Well said

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Currently around 4,000 tourists visit Maya Bay each day.

What a great adventure it must be to be part of a swarm of locusts invading an exotic locale.

 

"Oh, we visited Maya beach. It was magnificent, so peaceful and scenic! The water in the bay was crystal clear once the breeze opened up gaps between the boats for a few seconds. And that fine sand! Yes, we had to dig a little to get through the rubbish we and other people had dropped. But it was there. An unforgettable experience, and the 500 other visitors we constantly bumped into agreed with us. It's so nice to meet like-minded travelers who share the same appreciation for unspoiled nature."  

9 minutes ago, Misterwhisper said:

What a great adventure it must be to be part of a swarm of locusts invading an exotic locale.

 

"Oh, we visited Maya beach. It was magnificent, so peaceful and scenic! The water in the bay was crystal clear once the breeze opened up gaps between the boats for a few seconds. And that fine sand! Yes, we had to dig a little to get through the rubbish we and other people had dropped. But it was there. An unforgettable experience, and the 500 other visitors we constantly bumped into agreed with us. It's so nice to meet like-minded travelers who share the same appreciation for unspoiled nature."  

Rather sadly, it shows the poor quality of life these fellow humans have!

48 minutes ago, Nasrullah said:

All those boats in the picture is an enviromental crime in my view!....talk about spoiling it for everyone so the wanna be yuppies can pretend to be upper class......good first move to ban anchoring

But then how will all the vain white women take their instagram selfies?

An off topic post has been removed. 

I fear that the short time it is closed will not be enough time for things to recover. I have concerns that illegal tours will continue and when it reopens there will be a mass of boats rushing to make up the losses from the off season that will ruin any recovery by the environment. 

Maya Bay on Phi Phi Lei Island to be closed from June to September

By Thai PBS

 

 

The famous Maya Bay on Phi Phi Island in Krabi province will be closed four months from June to September for nature to recover.

 

The closure of the world’s famous bay was agreed upon at the meeting of the marine national park consultation committee yesterday.

 

According to Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, deputy Dean of Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Fisheries, the meeting agreed to close the bay from June to September.

 

Full story: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/maya-bay-phi-phi-lei-island-closed-june-september/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2018-03-29

43 minutes ago, Oziex1 said:

I fear that the short time it is closed will not be enough time for things to recover. I have concerns that illegal tours will continue and when it reopens there will be a mass of boats rushing to make up the losses from the off season that will ruin any recovery by the environment. 

Close it for at least a year, two would be better.

String a line of these across the entrance.

1 hour ago, sukhumvitneon said:

But then how will all the vain white women take their instagram selfies?

It's not the white foreign devils crowding the beach, it's the children of the middle kingdom.  

 

1 minute ago, zydeco said:

It's not the white foreign devils crowding the beach, it's the children of the middle kingdom.  

 

Is there anything left to eat within a kilometre of where that photo was taken?

Great idea, should of happened years ago, lets hope it continues were ever 

conservation is needed.

Supply and demand factors will come into play here, With the halving of the numbers and directly controlling entry into the bay I'm sure an entry fee will be applied to make up for the shortfall during the closure.

 

Just saw news report in Melbourne about the closure of Maya beach. The clip showed hordes of Chinese tourists and a sea full of boats. Hence it appears that the proposed closure is getting international headlines. But will it hit the tourist numbers? Time till tell I suppose

Can a high concentration of urine in the way kill off the sea life as well?

Just askin ?

High tide should wash a few away

I went there in 1981 in a longtail. My gf and I were the only ones on the beach. We skinny dipped and admired the natural beauty. No litter, nothing but our own footprints on the beach. Crystal clear water and fish everywhere. Exquisite! Never going back - too many fantastic memories would be ruined. 

If you market it-which the Thais do with a vengeance-then you would look after it-would you not?

One look at those pics is enough to keep me away.

This in practice just means the trip there will cost a bit more, right? At least won't be as crowded as when I visited, should have been called Sardine Tours.

9 hours ago, Nasrullah said:

All those boats in the picture is an enviromental crime in my view!....talk about spoiling it for everyone so the wanna be yuppies can pretend to be upper class......good first move to ban anchoring

That was obviously a quiet day

About time, I just hope it's not too little too late. 

Too many places like this being ruined due to greed. 

A lot of the stunning places I have visited over the years are just destroyed now. 

So sad. 

Maya Bay off limits

By PRATCH RUJIVANAROM 
THE NATION 

 

 

Four month closure aimed at tackling effects of excessive tourism to enable restoration of natural ecosystem.
 

ONE OF Thailand’s best-known tourist attractions, Maya Bay, will be closed to all visitors for four months during the monsoon season in an effort to restore its natural ecosystem that has been damaged by excessive tourism.

 

 

The decision to temporarily close Maya Bay on Phi Phi Island in Krabi to all tourists during the monsoon season from June to September was approved at a meeting of marine national parks chiefs on Wednesday. The move follows proposals from local people and academics to restore the coral reefs and allow nature to recover from the impacts of uncontrolled tourism during the rest of the year.

 

The chief of Had Nopparat Thara-Phi Phi Island National Park, Worapoj Lomlim, said the meeting approved the plan to restore the natural beauty of Maya Bay. 

 

Presided over by the director-general of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, the meeting decided to impose a seasonal closure of the venue starting this year after it became clear that the previously pristine nature of the bay was being degraded by excessive tourism.

 

Maya Bay is globally well-known as the set of the Hollywood movie “The Beach”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The filming of the movie at Had Nopparat Thara-Phi Phi Island National Park made the area one of the most sought-after tourist destinations in Thailand.

 

 

However, the increasing number of tourists visiting the Phi Phi islands and Maya Bay has led to overcrowding, and also harmed its natural beauty and ecosystem.

 

Worapoj said the problem of “overtourism” could be resolved by a four-month closure of Maya Bay, which would enable nature to restore itself, allow damaged coral reefs in the bay to regrow and also prevent danger to tourists from rough sea conditions during the monsoon season.

 

 

“During the four-month closure period, no tourists will be allowed to enter the bay from any side, but sightseeing from boats outside the bay area will still be possible,” he said. “As we are implementing the closure period of Maya Bay for the first time, we are going to study the restoration rate of nature and overall impact on the ecosystem and tourism to improve our plan next year. We want to promote sustainable tourism.”

 

He said controlling tourist numbers would have to be further discussed among all stakeholders, given the seriousness of the issue.

 

 

According to data on tourist numbers with the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Had Nopparat Thara-Phi Phi Island National Park was found to have drawn the highest number of visitors last year – nearly 2 million. It is expected that by the end of fiscal year 2018, the number of tourists at Phi Phi Islands could reach 2.5 million.

 

A leading marine biologist and major campaigner on the Maya Bay closure plan, Thon Thamrong-nawasawat, said the seasonal closure was a major step towards environmental preservation of all famous marine tourist attractions in Thailand, as overtourism had taken a great toll on the marine ecosystems and natural resources.

 

Thon suggested that the next goal should be to restrict the number of tourists at Maya Bay to no more than 2,000 per day, to prevent negative impacts. He said according to his observations, Maya Bay had received on average 3,700 tourists per day, which was well beyond the capacity of the area.

 

He also said during the monsoon season, the number of tourists heading to Maya Bay peaked at as many as 5,000 per day, as the other major islands were closed to visitors during the period and tourists crowded the remaining islands.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30342047

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-03-30

Nice to see good news!

 

 

Beach is no better than a 100 hundred others.

"as the other major islands were closed to visitors during the period"

 

Not true. Most islands are accessible 365 days a year.

Wonder if the powers that be have investments on Trang islands and Lipe. More traffic going there.

14 hours ago, khunjo99 said:

I went there in 1981 in a longtail. My gf and I were the only ones on the beach. We skinny dipped and admired the natural beauty. No litter, nothing but our own footprints on the beach. Crystal clear water and fish everywhere. Exquisite! Never going back - too many fantastic memories would be ruined. 

Same  for me in the Maldives 1980's no music no aircon, lived in an old  converted air force shack, 3  hour dhoni boat  to get there ( now seaplane/speedboat) now  it all has swimming  pools boutique resorts, water bungalows music blaring, and the airport is  huge, when I was there it was almost a dirt strip with a corrugated iron bog hole in the ground, it really was no news no shoes.

No one had ever  heard of the place or knew where it was and the flight  stopped 3  times to get there UK/Bahrain/Sri lanka/Maldives

Id  never want to go back, as u said happy  times empty beaches friendly people.

Mass tourism has ruined everywhere but thats progress ( of a sort) I guess where cheap travel lets everyone go.

the global problem of ''loving this planet to death''......whale watchers love whales , thrill seekers love the outdoors ,climblers love Everest all with consequences.....each one of us leaves a foot print,some just leave one bigger..add profit into the equation with greed abundant...and we have this...paradise lost ..

Even 25 years ago i was amazed that i didn't see any fish at all in maya bay....i've been searching for many hours but all i saw was seacucumbers....i bet they're also eaten now.

 

The other side of phi phi had loads of fish.

For the last 3 years, my family (we live in Vientiane), would fly Udon to Phuket direct, buy a weeks worth of food and drink and off we go, 10 of us ... 12 last year ... we never actually put foot on the beach of Maya Bay, we were happy to just sit on a mooring with the Yacht, plus of course a bit of swimming a snorkeling ...  away from the beech in deep water, the coral wasn't too bad, but cut up never the less, from people dropping anchors which you are not supposed to do ... unlike the comments in the message above me, we found hundreds of fish, alas, mainly the same species, which I may add, gave you a nip every so often ... however, My God, the bottom of the bay was littered with plastic Bags, Coke Cans, beer cans, and a lot of rubbish in general ... we all thought of the poor fish getting entangled in all this, but also thought, how would we feel if people just threw rubbish over our back fence every day ....

A GREAT move to control the bay, although I'm not sure that 4 months will be enough for it to recover, more like a couple of years ... I really hope the authorities concerned clean up the bottom of the bay, that will take a month or so ... they should also have Police or Rangers on Jet skies ready to pounce on people doing the wrong thing, all we have every seen is a ranger with a couple of helpers collecting money off the boats that hit the beach .... where does all that money go ?