Thai beach from Leonardo DiCaprio film to close due to tourist damage

Authorities in Thailand have ordered the closure of the beach made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie The Beach.

Thailand's National Parks and Wildlife Department announced this week that Maya Bay, situated on Phi Phi Leh island in the Andaman Sea, will be closed to all tourists for four months each year.

The decision - which will be enacted in June - has been made so damaged coral reefs and sea life, which the Associated Press says has “virtually disappeared”, can recover.

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Many Thai marine national parks are closed from mid-May to mid-October, “but because of tourist demand, Maya Bay has remained open year-round since a Hollywood crew set foot there in 1999 to film the dark backpacker tale based on a novel by Alex Garland”, says The Guardian.

Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine expert, told news agency Reuters that the island has a “very fragile ecosystem that simply cannot handle so many people, pollution from boats and beachfront hotels” and that “sometimes, a complete closure is the only way for nature to heal”.

According to AP, it receives an average of 4,000 visitors per day. When it reopens, a limit of 2,000 will be enforced and boats will have to anchor on the opposite side of the island.

“If you ask me if it is too late to save our islands, the answer is no,” said Thanya Netithammakum, head of the parks department. “But if we don’t do something today, it will be too late.”

Thailand has “seen a boost of over 25m tourists since The Beach was released”, says The Independent. Annual visits have risen from 10m in 2000 to 35m last year.

Thailand has permanently closed some islands to tourists in the past. Koh Yoong, part of the Phi Phi island chain, and Koh Tachai, in the Similan Islands national park, have been off limits to tourists permanently since mid-2016. Thamrongnawasawat told AP that the effect of the closure had been amazing.

Areas with severe coral bleaching were now teeming with robust and colourful sea life and coral.

“I have always dreamt that one day we could work to bring her back to life,” he said. “I have been following and working on Maya Bay for more than 30 years. I had seen it when it was a heaven and I see it when it has nothing left. Anything that we can do to bring this paradise back to Thailand is the dream of a marine biologist.”