The beach that was featured in the famous 2000 movie Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio was visited by over 5,000 tourists every single day that, of course, had negative impact on the fragile ecoystem of this beautiful place.
View of the beautiful Maya Beach in Thailand with boats and tourists. Source of this image is Wikimedia Commons where it is licensed under the Creative Commons and thus designed for free public use.
It was the tropical coral reefs that suffered the most from the crowds of - often irresponsible - tourists. Originally, the beach was to be closed for just four months but the head department of Thai national parks decided to extend the closure for up to several more years until the nature fully recovers here.
View of the beautiful Maya Beach in Thailand with characteristic tall rocks in background. Source of this image is Pixabay where it is licensed under the Creative Commons and thus designed for free public use.
It was estimated that about 80% of the coral reef in the bay was damaged. Hopefully, the marine life will be able to recover when given enough time for that.
What do you think about it? Do you agree with the decision to extend the closure? Have you been to this place? Let me know in the comments.