Tourism destroying nature - 7th January 2022

Before the global lockdown, Thailand's Phi Phi islands were endangered because of too many tourists.

The famous Maya Bay from the film "The Beach", with actor Leonardo DiCaprio, was attracting almost 6,000 tourists daily. However, the beach is only 250 metres long. Tourists arrived in motorboats which polluted and damaged ocean life and corals. Up to 60 percent had been destroyed by 2018.

As the bay reopens to tourists, environmentalists hope that it'll be an example of eco-tourism.

Sirithon Thamrongnawasawat is vice president of eco-development at Singha Estate. They educate people on the effects of their behaviour on the environment.

Sirithon Thamrongnawasawat: "We would like to make sure that everyone has been educated so that’s why we come up with the Marine Discovery Centre (MDC) where we show the tourists what is the impact, what is the biodiversity, what is the relationship between your behaviour and the impact to the corals."

Over the global lockdown period, the bay saw marine life growing back and even sharks returned. Marine biologist Kullawit Limchularat is helping the sharks return.

Kullawit Limchularat: "We have a plan to give awareness to the tourists about the importance of the sharks in ecology and we have a plan to release them back into nature."

The bay reopened to tourists on 1st January but with some new rules. Boats are banned from entering the bay and tourist numbers are limited.

Local businesses won't get as much business as before. However, the aim is to control heavy tourist traffic and attract more responsible visitors.

Sirithon Thamrongnawasawat: "We would love to have more responsible tourists and also, those who come can help the economy of the local people."