Thailand doesn’t want ALL the tourists back

 Thailand’s strict COVID measures meant international travel has ground to a halt during the pandemic.
But now, with tourism set to start up once again, the country is not sure it wants the same type of visitors to return to its shores.

Historically the country has attracted a huge number of tourists, from unruly gap year backpackers to large tour groups who show little care for the environment.

Now Thailand wants to move on from its ‘hedonistic’ history of mass tourism, with Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn stating the focus should be on “high-end travellers, rather than a large number of visitors.”

One location that would be glad to see change is the Phi Phi islands, world-renowned for their white beaches and clear blue waters. While lockdowns kept international travellers away, this region was quietly recovering from years of overtourism.

Before the pandemic, Phi Phi National Park saw more than 2 million visitors every year with 6,000 people a day making the trip to the world-famous Maya Bay. This uncontrolled mass tourism left the region’s delicate ecosystem in disarray.

“The coral cover has decreased by more than 60 per cent in just over 10 years,” Thon Thamrongnawasawat of Kasetsart University in Bangkok tells AFP.

The problem got so bad that in 2018, Thon pushed authorities to close part of Maya Bay. It has been closed ever since and, with strict travel restrictions meaning visitor numbers in the region dwindled to almost zero, nature has started to recover.

Endangered whale sharks have been seen off the coast, turtle species have returned and more than 40 per cent of the coral fragments replanted in Maya Bay have survived.

Thon calls it “a very satisfactory figure obtained thanks to the absence of visitors.”

To make a full recovery though, these coral reefs would need another two decades without visitors. (continues)

Source BangkokJack

 

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Tourism and marine parks threaten #Thailand's 'people of the sea'

When Sutem Lakkao's grandmother and father died, they were buried much as their ancestors had been: on the beach, close to their beloved boats so they could listen to the waves and watch over the Chao Lay community of fisherfolk in their afterlife.

But when his time comes, Sutem will be laid to rest in a cemetery where all he will hear is the roar of traffic on Phuket, Thailand's largest island and a key tourism destination.

The land in which Sutem's ancestors were buried now heaves with daytrippers taking selfies, while the Urak Lawoi community of the Chao Lay are confined to a small patch of Phuket's Rawai beach that is also claimed by developers and individuals.

"Our way of life of the olden days is gone - when we could fish anywhere, and we had a connection to the land because of our ancestors' burial site and spiritual shrines," said Sutem.

"We do not have that connection any more," he said standing on the sandy beach of Koh He, a small island off Phuket's southern coast, where his ancestors were once buried.

The Chao Lay, or people of the sea, have lived on the shores of Thailand and Myanmar for generations, fishing and foraging.

Some, like the Moken, are nomadic, spending weeks on the sea and free-diving to spear fish. Others, like the Urak Lawoi on Rawai beach in Phuket, have a more settled life while fishing in the Andaman Sea with their traps of rattan and wire.

They grabbed the world's attention in 2004 when they escaped the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami by fleeing to higher ground when they saw the waters recede.

But the community may be facing its greatest threat yet as marine conservation efforts limit their traditional fishing grounds, and a tourism boom pits them against developers keen on the patch of land that their boats, homes and shrines sit on.

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At the heart of the struggles of the Chao Lay - also known as "Sea Gypsies" - is not just their right to the sea and land, but also a more fundamental question of legality and identity, said Narumon Arunotai at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

"Their culture and traditions are not protected by the Constitution, and they do not have title deeds and permits, so it is difficult for them to assert their claim," she said.

"But they were there long before the tourists and the conservationists. If managed well, indigenous rights can go well with conservation and tourism," she said.

Across the world, indigenous people are fighting for the recognition of their rights to land, forest and water.

While they own more than half the world's land under customary rights, they have secure legal rights to only 10 percent, according to Washington D.C.-based advocacy group Rights and Resources Initiative.

 

 From Peru to Indonesia, laws aimed at conserving forests are leading to the evictions of indigenous people. 

 The Chao Lay's right to the sea is even more tenuous as they often lack permits and licences for fishing, and get arrested or fined for straying into newly established marine protected areas or island parks that authorities say are key to conservation.

The Chao Lay in Phuket, which lies about 700 kilometres (430 miles) southwest of Bangkok, face more than two dozen cases related to encroachment of land and trespass of national parks.

Two families on Rawai beach lost their cases, and have to leave the homes in which they had lived for about 40 years.

Source - TheJakartaPost
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#Indonesia - Modangan Beach in Malang a haven for paragliding

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Fans of paragliding should consider adding one more destination to their list of places to visit: Modangan Beach.

Located in Sumberoto village in Malang, East Java, the beach, which has recently been named a tourist village area, is known as a place associated with the aerospace industry.

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 As paragliding serves as one of the beach’s main attractions, a local community, the Modangan Paragliding Club, employs senior paragliding coaches to train local youths to become paragliding athletes. The village is also home to a picturesque teak forest and several Instagrammable spots.

For those looking to spend a few days at the destination, Malang village is currently developing five homestay areas that occupy 1.5 hectares of land. The local administration reportedly plans to offer opportunities for the villagers to open their houses to be used as homestays for tourists.

Sumberoto village head Budi Utomo says the administration has plans to develop halal tourism at Modangan Beach, considering that the villagers are known to be religious.

 

 Read also: Malang's colorful kampongs attract photo enthusiasts

 

TheJakartaPost

North Maluku preps Widi Island as maritime destination

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Widi Island in South Halmahera, North Maluku, is set to be promoted as a maritime destination to attract more tourists to the region.

"It will also host the International Fishing Tournament slated for October, which will be officially opened by President Joko Widodo," said South Halmahera Tourism, Youth and Sports Agency head Nur Kamarullah in Ternate, North Maluku, on Wednesday.

Around 100 anglers from across the globe have registered to participate in the tournament.

The island itself is currently undergoing major develop. According to Antara news agency, Widi is quite popular among foreign tourists and is often dubbed the Maldives of Indonesia.

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 "Widi Island is the future of South Halmahera's tourism. The agency has promoted this destination at various events, including the diving exhibition in Jakarta, the Legu Gam Festival in North Maluku, as well as tourism events in Yogyakarta and Batam," said Kamarullah.

A culinary and cultural festival reportedly will be held during the upcoming fishing tournament.

Widi Island is home to various natural attractions, including Tauno Bay and Santari Bay. 

 

Source - TheJakartaPost