Thailand is closing its iconic bay from 'The Beach' indefinitely to repair destruction by tourists
Around 5,000 tourists visit the bay daily. Image: REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
Stay up to date:
Future of the Environment
Maya Bay — the iconic bay in "The Beach," a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio — is closing its doors to tourists indefinitely, Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation announced on Tuesday.
The DNP said the bay needs more time to recover after overcrowding of tourists damaged the beach and its marine ecosystem.
Since the release of "The Beach" in 2000, visitors have flocked from around the world to what is undoubtedly one of the world's most stunning beaches — but the environment has felt the impact.
According to The Guardian, DNP Director Songtam Suksawang said: "We have evaluated each month and found out that the ecological system was seriously destroyed from tourism of up to 5,000 people daily."
"It's very difficult to remedy and rehabilitate because its beach was completely destroyed as well the plants which cover it."
The announcement comes after the beach was set to reopen on September 30.
"We won't close it to tourism forever but have to do something to save our sea, and we have to start at Maya Bay," DNP adviser Thon Thamrongnawasawat told the BBC at the time.
The Guardian reported that more than 80% of the coral around Maya Bay has been destroyed because of pollution from litter, boats, and sunscreen.
Data released by the DNP estimated an influx of 2.5 million visitors to the bay in 2018, CNN reported.
It's not clear how soon the beach may reopen. However, The Guardian reported that a royal gazette published by the DNP announced that restrictions on tourism would remain in place until the ecosystem "fully recovers to a normal situation."
Given that coral grows just half a centimeter a year, we may have to wait a while.
Don't miss any update on this topic
Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.
License and Republishing
World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
Related topics:
The Agenda Weekly
A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda
You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.
More on Nature and BiodiversitySee all
Kirsten Schuijt and Maria Susana Muhamad González
October 11, 2024
Douglas Broom
October 11, 2024
Johnny Wood and Madeleine North
October 3, 2024
Andreas Obrecht and Akanksha Khatri
September 25, 2024
Gill Einhorn and Rosie Ponting
September 25, 2024