Concern rises as photos of jam packed Maya Bay with influx of Chinese tourists exposed

[Jeremy50]

I was there in December 1992 and left early because it was way too hot and so many (many handsful of) backpackers. Mistake. And again, after the tsunami, with centre of island structures washed away. It used to be the chilliest pace.

What? The weather has changed?

[Jeremy50]

Terrible.

Rape the land until it's destroyed.

Too many people on the earth, a serious pandemic is needed to balance the books.

People need to stop breeding.

The bubonic plague certainly did the job in the 14th century.

[Beng]

Here we go. Just another nice place that has been developed into a tourist attraction by the blindfolded, local authorities. Too many influental people in leading positions of local governments that have no clue.

Wrong people will always do wrong things.

[EmptyHead]

That looks like paradise. Amazing Thailand.

In 20 years this country will be destroyed. I hope this isn't part of the Thainess campaign.

Got to feel sorry for the people living there though, but do the locals actually keep it clean or do they over-fish and throw rubbish everywhere??

Thankfully nobody wants to visit the country where i came from, so this can't happen. Nobody wants to visit the place in Thailand where i live now either, but the locals are doing a good job of littering and turning the land to desert by burning. In a few hundred years, it'll be the Isaan desert. Guaranteed!

[DLock]

That looks like paradise. Amazing Thailand.

In 20 years this country will be destroyed. I hope this isn't part of the Thainess campaign.

Got to feel sorry for the people living there though, but do the locals actually keep it clean or do they over-fish and throw rubbish everywhere??

Thankfully nobody wants to visit the country where i came from, so this can't happen. Nobody wants to visit the place in Thailand where i live now either, but the locals are doing a good job of littering and turning the land to desert by burning. In a few hundred years, it'll be the Isaan desert. Guaranteed!

20 years?

At the rate the Chinese are coming and scenes like this, I give it 5 years max.

The Western tourists will start giving Thailand a wide berth as more and more pictures like this find their way onto social media and sooner or later the only tourists that come will be Chinese on their package deals. They don't seem to care.

This is really sad to see, but I'm not sure the Thai's really see what's happening - tours paid for back home, Chinese owned restaurants, hotels, gift shops, and soon Chinese only tour guides. The bus drivers and boat drivers might be making some money, and maybe some drink sellers...but not many other Thai's are going to benefit from this invasion...and soon the railway will bring even more...maybe.

[DM07]

Been there once, 3 years ago, on a sailing- trip. Our Captain was clever enough to get us there at 8 am, when there were only 2 other boats ankering there. Beautiful place, actually.

Did some snorkeling until -around 10- the big speedboats started to come in.

Time to get the hell out of there!

[Oziex1]

A lot of talk about Chinese low end tourists, what do they think about their holiday, the tours they go on what is it that they enjoy? Just being away from China perhaps?

I have met some Chinese tourists in Phuket, English speaking some sophistication seemed OK to me, also another group smartly dressed cheerful having a good time up at Cape Promthep.

[mikemac]

I must live in a very isolated world, I thought that mass tourism like the picture in the OP was something of the past!!

But clearly not...............

I went to Angor Wat in 2006, was almost trampled by an army of obnoxious Japanese tourists armed with massive cameras. Not enjoyable to visit any place that is that crowded.

[TPI]

When has concern for the environment ever taken precedence over naked greed in Thailand?

True words! Most Thais are only loyal to their local Phu Yai and moo ban, Pride in the nation or protecting national assets is a very much a "media" blowup!!

[JOC]

Chinese people are ants, this is just the beginning for Thailand.

Slightly salty indeed. I cannot see any toilets in the photos. ;-)

Can't they any toilets in the photos??

You are looking at them!!

[Skywalker69]

Chinese people are ants, this is just the beginning for Thailand.

Slightly salty indeed. I cannot see any toilets in the photos. ;-)

I cannot see any toilets in the photos

All of them are swimming in it.

[Asiantravel]

At least they should be advised to show some sensitivity to their surroundings particularly in a place like Maya Bay.

But based on my experience of watching their behaviour in the temples up in Chiang Mai when they arrive by the busload one wouldn’t have reason to be very optimistic

[MaxYakov]

Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of years of humanity hunting and gathering for survival.

And here we are still hunting (for tourist destinations) and gathering (there).

Such is the progress of humanity!

[Rancid]

I was first there 30 years ago and again 20 years ago, guess I caught it all at its prime. Obviously no reason to go back, same thing happens to most popular spots, just have to keep trying to find more remote.

[retsdon]

When I first went to Phi.Phi, we slept on the beach. There was pretty much nowhere else to stay. Krabi itself had about 4 guest houses, and Ao Nang a few beach huts. There was live coral within a short swim of the shore. The whole area has been rendered down from paradise to open sewer in less than 30 years.

But hey, people made some money.

[angiolo]

Wow I cant believe this photo. Cant see the sand for the people . Who is that peeing in the water,lets go for a swim and find out. The sea is a natural sewer so no need for a blocked up toilet. I have sailed the beaches of Spain Anchored off at night and often watch the night time staff clearing the beach. Not so with Crete , Greece . Benidorme is crowded , but the beach is cleaned at night.

[Thian]

When I first went to Phi.Phi, we slept on the beach. There was pretty much nowhere else to stay. Krabi itself had about 4 guest houses, and Ao Nang a few beach huts. There was live coral within a short swim of the shore. The whole area has been rendered down from paradise to open sewer in less than 30 years.

But hey, people made some money.

I was there 20 years ago and had a cheap bungalow for 60 baht a night with a fan, only electricity at night from the generator.

There was an expensive resort directly at maya beach with nice beachbeds. No boats on the beach, shallow water, very quiet and peacefull.

There were a few small restaurants near and the path to them had thousands of red crayfish/crabs at night.

The coral was at the other side of the island i remember. Maya bay had loads of sea-urgents who are probably all eaten now, just as the red crayfish who came on land.

On the boat from phi phi a thai with a monkey on his lap sat next to me. I remember i missed the lifevests (of course).

[kimamey]

Hope there are enough toilets for the crowds.

I thought that was the queue for the toilets.

[kimamey]

I could have gone to KPP a decade before The Beach but never did, and for the last decade I have never wanted to, because it's been clear that the place was overrun with tourism. But for it to get this bad is truly shocking. Is there any other people on this planet so willing to destroy the natural beauty of their country for the sake of money as the Thais? It's very hard to think of one. Maybe the Spanish and French with their Mediterranean coasts.

It's not just the Thais.

How about the British (in the summer), Italians, Portuguese, Gibraltans, Cypriots, Americans, Turks, Maltese, Israelis, Jamacans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Brazillians, Barbadians, Maldivans, Malaysians and so on.

Every country with beaches and the right weather does it, including your's probably. It's very hard to think of even one country that restricts the number of visitors, in fact there are none.

In the UK the weather restricts numbers on beaches most of the time.

[IslandLover]

retsdon, on 22 Mar 2015 - 13:30, said:

When I first went to Phi.Phi, we slept on the beach. There was pretty much nowhere else to stay. Krabi itself had about 4 guest houses, and Ao Nang a few beach huts. There was live coral within a short swim of the shore. The whole area has been rendered down from paradise to open sewer in less than 30 years.

But hey, people made some money.

The attached picture shows Koh Phi Phi "then and now".

I saw the "then" in 1982 and have watched it grow at various times up to the present. I had never seen coral quite like it back in 1982 and now it is mostly gone, which I know is not entirely due to tourism but still. I last visited in 2011 and Maya Bay wasn't quite as bad as the OP picture. Bamboo island was pretty horrendous though and it was mostly Russian tourists. The influx of Chinese (and western) tourists all over South East Asia is becoming a serious problem for the environment. Places that were once paradise have been ruined by tourism and over-development to cope with the numbers. Pulau Tioman in Malaysia is another case in point. I'm glad to have visited it in the 1970s when it was pristine.

[chooka]

Never get me there, to many tourists and why would anyone want to go to a beach when it's shoulder to shoulder standing room anyway.

[ChomDo]

What a shocking picture...so the crazy Chinese have arrived to Thailand. One more minus for the downhill spiral of this country!

[simonuk]

I'm in China right now....They are a unique people. The masses won't bother the Chinese one bit. All other humans seem to be invisible to them. They just barely notice or hear eachother. A defence mechanism built up over millenia of living in the most densely populated part of the planet.

They have a set of manners and customs that is totally at odd with those of Thailand.

They spit and piss anywhere they like, shout constantly and can't drive . They are by far the least considerate people I've ever met on my travels. That Thailand wants them is a sign that they have given up attracting quality tourists.

[roo860]

Chinese people are ants, this is just the beginning for Thailand.

That is piss they are floating in?

[bkksiam]

I just returned from a holiday in this area- ao nang, krabi etc. It's not just maya bay that's ruined because of too many tourists. Add to the list railay beach, Poda Island, Tub Island, Chicken Island, Phra Nang Cave Beach etc.

There are far too many long-tail boats, too many speed boats and far too many visitors to each of these places at any one time (and not only chinese). I'm not sure what is worse- the hoards of tourists or the deafening non-stop hum of the boats.

A faustian bargain for sure- they've sacrificed the soul of the place in exchange for dollars.

[tomyummer]

Like penguins

[soalbundy]

I just returned from a holiday in this area- ao nang, krabi etc. It's not just maya bay that's ruined because of too many tourists. Add to the list railay beach, Poda Island, Tub Island, Chicken Island, Phra Nang Cave Beach etc.

There are far too many long-tail boats, too many speed boats and far too many visitors to each of these places at any one time (and not only chinese). I'm not sure what is worse- the hoards of tourists or the deafening non-stop hum of the boats.

A faustian bargain for sure- they've sacrificed the soul of the place in exchange for dollars.

Which is great if you are taking the dollars, don't be so self righteous, these people have little enough money as it is,talk to them about the importance of the environment or the importance of putting food on the table for their family, i know what would be more important to me

[retsdon]

I just returned from a holiday in this area- ao nang, krabi etc. It's not just maya bay that's ruined because of too many tourists. Add to the list railay beach, Poda Island, Tub Island, Chicken Island, Phra Nang Cave Beach etc.

There are far too many long-tail boats, too many speed boats and far too many visitors to each of these places at any one time (and not only chinese). I'm not sure what is worse- the hoards of tourists or the deafening non-stop hum of the boats.

A faustian bargain for sure- they've sacrificed the soul of the place in exchange for dollars.

Which is great if you are taking the dollars, don't be so self righteous, these people have little enough money as it is,talk to them about the importance of the environment or the importance of putting food on the table for their family, i know what would be more important to me

Except that most of the valuable real estate was bought up years ago for a song. The small tour operators have been squeezed out by the corporate package tour providers and the big hotels. The majority of the jobs are done by outsiders from places like Nakon Si Tammarat, or even further afield. The majority of locals are left with the scraps. And the locals who didn't or weren't able to jump on the tourist bandwagon have tourist induced pricing in terms of rents, services, etc, to go along with the ruination of their heritage.

[thaiguzzi]

Went with a boat there with the future missus in 2001/2. Very very nice. That photo is unrecognisable as the same place.

[roo860]

Beach in China.