Sustainable Tourism in Thailand: Thai government’s initiatives to protect the Land of Smiles
Thailand has strongly cemented itself as one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet. It has a number of incredible places to explore. Thailand is the kind of place you can visit again and again but find something fresh every time.
Locals are friendly, excited to boast about their local culture and customs before visitors. But the impacts of the tourism industry on Thailand has not been positive forever. A lot of issues have arised over the years, including environmental troubles and overtourism.
It is important to travel to the beautiful Land of Smiles like a responsible traveller. In recent years, the Thai government itself has taken several initiatives to improve sustainability throughout the country. Let’s explore some of the examples.
Sustainable Tourism in Thailand: Government’s initiatives
1. Closing popular tourist destinations
Thai authorities are prominent for taking drastic measures to protect the most heavily-visited regions of the country. The biggest example of this is the decision to close Maya Bay, the island close to Koh Phi Phi, in 2018 for four years.
Over the years, Maya Bay – made extremely famous among global tourists by ‘The Beach’ movie – became a victim of its own beauty. Overtourism resulted in severe damage to the ecosystem. Marine life started disappearing and trash started piling up in the place.
Maya Bay has been reopened to the public. But in another similar development, Thailand recently decided to close the pristine Koh Pling island over mass coral bleaching. The authorities are also monitoring other national parks in the country.
2. No Foam No Plastic
Another big initiative that the government and local businesses have introduced as of 2018 is banning single use plastics from all 154 national and regional parks across Thailand. In 2020, authorities took it a step further by banning single-use plastic bags.
3. No Smoking
The Thai government has completely prohibited smoking on some of the most popular beaches in the country. They have stressed the damage cigarettes have been inflicting on the environment as tourists and locals leave behind their butts on the ground.
This article is part of our ‘Sustainable Tourism’ series. Stay tuned for more.
