Thai beach closes indefinitely to recover from tourism

A Thai beach made famous by a Leonardo DiCaprio film has closed indefinitely to give its ecosystem time to recover, authorities have said.

Maya Bay, on Phi Phi Leh island in the Andaman Sea, was the setting for the 2000 film ‘The Beach’.

The area had been closed for four months since 1 June in a bid to salvage the area’s coral reefs which have been damaged by warmer temperatures and a flood of tourists. But it has now been closed indefinitely.

Up to 6,000 visitors visited the beach every day, travelling by speedboat from the nearby resort islands of PhiPhi and Phuket and Krabi on the mainland.

“Four months’ closure was not enough,” said Songtham Sukswang, the director of the Office of National Parks.

“We need at least a year or even up to two years or maybe more for the environment to recover – this includes the coral reefs, mangrove, and the beach.”

Tourism makes up about 12% of Thailand’s economy, but there has been growing concern about the country’s ability to manage its rapidly growing number of visitors.