Published on : Saturday, June 2, 2018
Thousands of visitors are now arriving for getting an unspoiled view of glistening white sands and emerald waters.
Maya Bay on Phi Phi Leh Island in the Andaman Sea will be closing for tourists for four months from Friday to provide its coral reefs and sea life a chance to recover from perils of over tourism that began nearly two decades ago. Thai authorities are now claiming to balance profit and conservation, saying that the closure will happen every year.
It’s part of a strategy to rethink about something that’s happening globally about unrestricted tourism that brings in big dollars but damages historic sites, harms the environment and often alienates locals.
Last month, the Philippines started a six-month closure of popular Boracay Island, whose waters President Rodrigo Duterte described as a “cesspool.” Venice installed gates at two access bridges during a four-day holiday in April so that it could turn back visitors if numbers became too much to handle.
Many of Thailand’s marine national parks are closed from mid-May to mid-October during the monsoon season.