Maya Bay, aka “The Beach” is not only Thailand’s most famous beach; it is also one of the top-visited tourist destinations in the world. Maya Bay had become extremely famous after the movie The Beach that cast Leonardo Di Caprio. Its white sandy beach, turquoise waters, and surrounded by gigantic limestone cliffs and coral reefs brought millions of tourists every year. Thailand’s Department of National Parks decided to close Maya Bay on Phi Phi Le Island temporarily in June 2018. The decision did not base on the Covid pandemic. It was an effort to restore and protect the local wildlife, including reef sharks and coral reefs.
Recently, there have been some speculations about reopening Maya Bay to limited numbers of tourists in the coming months as a way to help boost tourism to the Andaman Sea. Initially, the closure was meant to last four months only. But realizing that it would take much longer for the bay’s nature to be restored, as well as to install the infrastructure required to protect it, officials gradually extended the freeze to four years, finally confirming this week that it would open in January 2022, two months after Thailand began welcoming vaccinated tourists from 63 countries. Read More
