Published on : Friday, April 13, 2018
Maya Bay on the western Thai island of Koh Phi Phi Ley welcomed more than 4,000 visitors daily. While on the contrary, Indonesia received 12.68 million people in last year.
Across the region, South-east Asia’s once-pristine beaches are reeling from decades of unchecked tourism as governments rush to confront trash-filled waters and environmental degradation without puncturing a key economic driver.
Now Thailand’s Maya Bay will be off limits for four months from June to September, officials announced last month, in a bid to save its ravaged coral reefs. In the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte this month ordered the Boracay beach resort to be closed to tourists for up to six months from April 26, describing it as a “cesspool” tainted by sewage dumped directly into the sea.
The Indonesian officials declared a “garbage emergency” last year swamping a 6km stretch of coast along the island of Bali. The island’s bleak coastal pollution was highlighted last month by British diver Rich Horner’s viral video of swimming through a sea of trash swirling offshore.
The conservationists and governments are worried about the health of coral reefs, which are in a dire state globally due to climate change and rising sea temperatures.
The countries in South-east Asia are looking to stem the threats without cutting off the cash flow of a regional tourism boom, led by China, the top source market for travellers to the region. Thailand received 35 million tourists last year, of whom nearly 10 million hailed from China, according to official data. Still, governments are wary of curtailing an industry that creates jobs and buoys economies.
Spending on travel and tourism contributed nearly US$136 billion (S$178 billion) to South Asia’s gross domestic product last year. It is figure forecast to rise to US$144 billion this year.
Tags: Boracay beach, island, South Asian beaches