The Maya Bay, a beach in Thailand made famous by the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio movie “The Beach” will stay closed indefinitely to give its ecosystem time to recover, reported Reuters on Tuesday.
Located on the Phi Phi Leh Island in the Andaman Sea, Maya Bay was earlier closed for four months on June 1 as the government tried to salvage the area’s coral reefs, which have been damaged by warmer temperatures and the frequent visits of tourists.
Up to 6,000 visitors had gone to the beach every day, travelling by speedboat from the nearby resort islands of Phi Phi and Phuket and Krabi on the mainland, reports the news agency.
“Four months’ closure was not enough,” Songtham Sukswang, director of the Office of National Parks, Thailand told the agency.
“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,” Songtham added.
Tourism plays a big part in Thailand’s economy and contributes to as much as 12% to the growth of the country’s economy. But with the number of visitors increasing rapidly, it has been a growing concern whether they can manage the growth in tourism.
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