Dear Guests: Help Us Protect the Andaman Sea

Phuket’s coral reefs are among its greatest treasures, but they are also extremely fragile. Many popular sunscreens contain chemicals that coral, even in small amounts. We kindly ask you to choose reef-safe sunscreen, is available at our gift shop.

When snorkelling, please do not stand on or touch the coral. it looks like rock, coral is a living animal, and a single touch can destroy years of growth. Feeding fish is also discouraged, as it changes their natural behaviour.

Our hotel has stopped using plastic straws and single-use water bottles. , every room now has a refillable glass bottle, and drinking water stations are located on each floor. We would be grateful you could also take any plastic you bring to the beach back with you.

Thank you for helping us keep this coast beautiful for the guests, and the fish, will come after you. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate contact the front desk.

What the Tourists Taught Me · by Tong Rattanakul

When I took a summer job at a beach hotel, I thought I would only be practising my English. I did not expect the guests me so much about my own island.

A German couple asked me why Maya Bay had been closed. I knew the answer, but I had never really thought about it. While I was explaining, I realised how close we to losing one of the most beautiful places in Thailand.

A family from Singapore asked I could recommend a restaurant “where local people eat”. I sent them to my parents’ place, and they came back three times. On their last visit, the father said something I have not forgotten: “Tourists can go anywhere. What we cannot find anywhere is people who are proud of their home.”

the summer, I also saw the other side of tourism. Our rent has doubled in five years, and some of my school friends have already moved inland their families can no longer afford to live near the coast.

I do not think the answer is fewer tourists. I think it is tourism that local people a fairer share. Next year I want to study tourism management, one day I can help plan an island that works for its visitors and its families.

Booking Confirmation · Andaman Breeze Hotel, Kata Beach

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Becker,

Thank you for choosing the Andaman Breeze. We are delighted to confirm your reservation.

Arrival: Monday 14 July (check-in from 14:00)
Departure: Friday 18 July (check-out by 12:00)
Room: Garden View Family Room, two adults and two children
Rate: 3,200 baht per night, including breakfast for four

Airport transfers can be arranged for 800 baht each way. Please send us your flight details at least 48 hours before you arrive.

Our Maya Bay day trip leaves on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7:30 and returns at 17:00. The price is 2,500 baht per adult and 1,500 baht per child, including lunch and the national park fee. Please note that swimming is not permitted in Maya Bay itself, but the trip includes a snorkelling stop at a nearby island.

Free cancellation is available until seven days before arrival. After that, the first night will be charged.

We look forward to welcoming you.

Wipa Srisuk, Front Office Manager

The Beach That Was Allowed to Rest

For years, Maya Bay on the island of Koh Phi Phi Leh was a victim of its own beauty. Made famous by a Hollywood film in 2000, the small bay attracted thousands of visitors a day. Boats dropped anchor directly on the coral, and the sand was crowded from morning until evening. By 2018, scientists warned that much of the coral in the bay had been destroyed.

In June of that year, Thai authorities made a decision that surprised the tourism industry: they closed the bay completely. The closure was meant to last a few months, but it was extended again and again. Marine biologists replanted thousands of pieces of coral, and boats were banned from entering the bay.

The results were remarkable. Within a few years, blacktip reef sharks, which had almost disappeared, returned to the shallow water near the beach in large numbers. New coral began to grow on the reef.

When Maya Bay reopened in 2022, the rules had changed. Boats must now stop at a floating pier on the other side of the island, the number of visitors is limited and each group is given a set time on the beach, and swimming in the bay is forbidden. The bay also closes every year for two months during the monsoon season.

Not everyone welcomed the changes. Some tour operators complained that the limits reduced their income. However, many in the industry now accept that protecting the bay also protects the business, since a beach without its natural beauty would attract no one at all.

Two Views: Should Visitors Pay a Fee to Enter Phuket?

Yes, says Supaporn Kaewsai, a community leader in Rawai. Every visitor uses our roads, our water and our beaches, and every visitor leaves behind rubbish that our town must collect. Local taxes cannot cover these costs. A small fee of around 300 baht would hardly be noticed by someone who has paid thousands for a flight, but across ten million visitors it could pay for clean water, better waste collection and protection for our reefs. Bhutan charges far more, and visitors still come.

No, says Daniel Morris, who runs a diving school in Patong. I support protecting the environment, but a new fee is the wrong tool. Thailand competes with Bali, Vietnam and the Philippines, and even a small extra cost sends a message that visitors are not welcome. More importantly, there is no guarantee that the money would reach Phuket. Fees collected nationally often disappear into general budgets. Before we ask visitors to pay more, we should show that the money already collected is being spent well.