Each year, Thailand sees the arrival of around 13 million tourists and this number is actually growing. Thailand’s tourism industry makes up about 6.5 percent of the country’s GDP but has counter-productive environmental impact all across the country for two reasons. Firstly, Thailand lacks an infrastructure that is able to deal with waste disposal in any efficient, cyclical way, especially when waste is produced in areas far from organized social centers.
The second is that despite the common knowledge that this kind of tourism causes such massive damage, the natives and the tourists are still putting their personal desires above that of the environment. At well organized events and locations, there is some attempt to mediate impact, but the environmental costs of beach tourism and the Full Moon Parties are obvious.
In terms of the marine environment, it is untreated municipal and industrial waste that is considered to be the most serious problem. The parties on Ko Phangan alone produce around 12 tons of rubbish per day. Most of what is not collected is taken by the sea; the remainder is land filled or tipped. Most ironic is the advice you can find on the websites that advertise the events: “Travelers and tourists who attend the party are urged to help in the fight against pollution.” It could be argued that this is best done by not going at all.
The increased interest in such parties and beach tourism has meant unknown acres of valuable coastal woodland having been destroyed and replaced by beach bars, hotels and resorts. According to the World Bank, Thailand’s marine and coastal resources are being degraded as the population in the coastal provinces has grown, and economic activities such as tourism and ocean transportation have increased with them. Obviously.