Maya Bay, the tropical island cove of Hollywood acclaim in Krabi province, finally reopened for tourism on January 1, after 3-and-a-half years of closure in a bid to restore its broken white-sand seaside and decimated marine ecosystem.
Officials temporarily closed the bay in June 2018 to scrub the beach and restore the area’s coral reefs. Originally deliberate as a four month closure, officials closed the bay indefinitely in October of that yr to permit extra time for the surroundings to recuperate from the effects of over-tourism.
Located within the famed Phi Phi Islands of Krabi province, the bay is a part of Phi Phi Lei Island in Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park. It was made well-known in the 2000 darkish romance movie, The Beach, starring a younger Leonardo DiCaprio. Since then, hundreds of thousands of vacationers have flocked to the bay to capture a slice of cinematic paradise.
Prior to its closure, the 250 metre lengthy, 15 metre wide beach was receiving up to 200 boats a day, or about 5,000 tourists, The Guardian reported. Such a excessive volume of traffic proved unsustainable for the Andaman Sea gemstone with an estimated 80% of its coral reefs damaged by boats, trash and chemical substances corresponding to sunscreen.
During its prolonged shutdown, boats had been still allowed to anchor outside the bay to allow tourists to take pictures of it. Invitation only underwent a rehabilitation program, during which the seaside was cleaned, crops and bushes have been planted, and greater than a thousand healthy corals had been transplanted to revive the damaged areas.
Officials briefly considered reopening the bay for limited tourism in early 2021 to assist enhance tourism within the area after a year of pandemic, yet the seashore remained closed until January this yr.
The bay is now open from 10am to 4pm and guests can e-book a ship in considered one of eight shifts per day, limited to 300 folks every, for a maximum of three,000 day by day, in accordance with LonleyPlanet. In an effort towards sustainable tourism, boats are not allowed to anchor in the bay, but most now dock at a new floating peer positioned behind the cliffs, and visitors are allowed to swim solely in a designated area. But many tourism pundits are betting that the tourist visits will exceed that in busy instances and enforcement could additionally be ‘lax’.
Although the bay has reopened, it’s restoration continues to be removed from complete. Because coral grows at a gradual price of about .5 centimeters a yr, it’s going to take many more years for the aquatic ecosystem to completely get well. Visitors are suggested to cherish the picturesque bay by practicing Leave No Trace rules, including packing their trash and carrying chemical-free sunscreen..