Thailand will close one of its world famous in an effort to reverse the damage done to its coral by tourism. The beach is in Maya Bay on the island of Koh Phi Phi Leh. It garnered worldwide after it featured heavily in the Leonardo DiCaprio movie The Beach. The film put the Maya Bay beach on the bucket lists of millions of worldwide. The result has been an of up to 5,000 sun worshippers a day to its emerald shores. They arrive on hundreds of boats, which have caused damage to the bay's coral. Officials say that of the coral in the bay has died. The beach will close between June and September to let the coral recover.
Experts predict that almost 80 per cent of Thailand's coral have been destroyed, and that once beaches have been damaged by tourism. The dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Bangkok's Kasetsart University is an outspoken of the level of tourism Thailand's coastline has to endure. He said the biggest were beachfront hotels, boat anchors crashing into and breaking the coral, and waste being dumped in the sea. He believes the " solution" is for Maya Bay to be closed . He said: "While it's a very pretty bay, visiting it with a of boats and hordes of other tourists rather detract from the ." He welcomed the temporary closure.
