Hanoi (VNA) – Thailand’s famous Maya Bay will beclosed indefinitely to allow it to recover from the impact of heavytourism.
Local authorities announced on October 3 thataccording to their monthly evaluations, the ecological system has been found tobe seriously destroyed after serving up to 5,000 tourists each day.
Thailand's Department of National Parks,Wildlife, and Plant Conservation announced the indefinite closure in a bulletinpublished on October 1. It said the restrictions on tourism would not be lifteduntil the ecosystem "fully recovers to a normal situation".
However, Songtam Suksawang, Director of theNational Parks office, said it is a very difficult situation to remedy andrehabilitate as the beach was completely destroyed, adding that it wouldbe “impossible” for full recovery to occur in a short allotted time.
Maya Bay first became famous when it featured inthe 2000 film “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The bay was initially shut for four months inJune due to beach erosion and pollution as it sagged under pressure fromthousands of day-trippers. However, a survey of the problem during thetemporary ban showed that the short-term fix was not going to work andthat the damage was worse than originally thought.
Three Thai islands were also made off limits totourists, namely Koh Khai Nok, Koh Khai Nui, and Koh Khai Nai off the coast ofPhuket.
Last April, the Philippines announced asix-month closure of its popular Boracay beach. Indonesia also declared anemergency along a coastal stretch of the resort island of Bali last yeardue to serious pollution. –VNA
Local authorities announced on October 3 thataccording to their monthly evaluations, the ecological system has been found tobe seriously destroyed after serving up to 5,000 tourists each day.
Thailand's Department of National Parks,Wildlife, and Plant Conservation announced the indefinite closure in a bulletinpublished on October 1. It said the restrictions on tourism would not be lifteduntil the ecosystem "fully recovers to a normal situation".
However, Songtam Suksawang, Director of theNational Parks office, said it is a very difficult situation to remedy andrehabilitate as the beach was completely destroyed, adding that it wouldbe “impossible” for full recovery to occur in a short allotted time.
Maya Bay first became famous when it featured inthe 2000 film “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
The bay was initially shut for four months inJune due to beach erosion and pollution as it sagged under pressure fromthousands of day-trippers. However, a survey of the problem during thetemporary ban showed that the short-term fix was not going to work andthat the damage was worse than originally thought.
Three Thai islands were also made off limits totourists, namely Koh Khai Nok, Koh Khai Nui, and Koh Khai Nai off the coast ofPhuket.
Last April, the Philippines announced asix-month closure of its popular Boracay beach. Indonesia also declared anemergency along a coastal stretch of the resort island of Bali last yeardue to serious pollution. –VNA
VNA
