Maya Bay, in Phang-nga Province, southern Thailand, has been ranked the world's third-best beach by the Lonely Planet travel guide.
The top two beaches in the world are The Pass at Byron Bay, New South Wales (Australia), and Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In its January edition, the famous guide described Maya Bay as "a beach hidden by limestone cliffs" which was chosen by director Danny Boyle as the filming location for the movie "The Beach" (2000), starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Despite numerous disputes related to its use as a filming location, the film's popularity put Maya Bay, locally known as Ao Maya, on the world tourism map, attracting around 6,000 tourists per day.
See: Thailand orders Century Fox to pay to restore Maya Bay after the film The Beach
Mass tourism then had an impact on the ecosystem.
Tourists on Maya Bay beach in 2016. Photo: Maksym Kozlenko
Tourist traffic has led to pollution from litter and damaged coastal vegetation.
But the main problem was the speedboats that carried hordes of day-trippers into the bay and dropped their anchors on the coral below.
According to Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine biologist at Thailand's Kasetsart University, by 2018 only 8% of the coral remained, compared to 70% some thirty years ago.
See: Thailand wants to save Maya Bay from mass tourism
The Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation decided to close it in 2018 to allow the beach and its environment to recover.
It reopened in 2022, but with restrictions.
The boats that transport tourists must use this dock located at the back of Ao Maya Island.
Visitors must register in advance, the number of visits is capped at 4,125 per day and the number of tourists cannot exceed 375 people at the same time.
Visits are limited to one hour and swimming is prohibited in the bay itself.
To preserve the coral, all boats must access the island via a new dock located on the opposite side of Maya Bay beach.
See:
Maya Bay in Thailand reopens to tourism
Sharks and tourists fight for space at Maya Bay in Thailand
Source: Thai PBS World
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2 comments
I was lucky enough to be almost alone on this island. If you have a virtual headset, I'll take you with me in the following video 🙂
Walking Tour 360° in Maya Bay Koh Phi Phi 5.2 K, the most immersive visit of « The Beach »
This is how mass tourism is created.
Here we go, 40 million people on the same beach.
What are we going to see?
An ordinary beach like there are everywhere.
What are we going to do? Take a photo! I've been there!