This is Thailand’s Maya Bay, among the country’s more popular tourist spots located on the island of Phi Phi Ley in the Andaman Sea.
Incidentally, it rose to global fame after the 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer ‘The Beach’ was shot here. But the boost to tourism came with a severe environmental impact.
Mass tourism damaged the delicate ecosystem. Pollution and boat traffic had destroyed almost 80% of the bay’s coral reefs.
In mid-2018, the Thai government decided to close Maya Bay to visitors for a few months and begin rejuvenation programmes to restore its biodiversity.
The island reopened to tourists at the beginning of this year but with new regulations.
Read the full story here: Thailand’s Maya Bay, of DiCaprio’s The Beach, is slowly recovering from the devastating effects of mass tourism
