Visitors Slowly Return to a Famous Thai Coastal Area
2022-01-07
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A coastal area in Thailand known as Maya Bay once had thousands of visitors each day after it appeared in the Hollywood movie The Beach.
2The film with Leonardo DiCaprio came out in 2000.
3Since then, visitors to the Southeast Asian country have taken boats to see the isolated beach.
4It is on an island called Phi Phi Leh and is surrounded by 100-meter-high cliffs.
5But the boats and tourists hurt the coral and chased away the fish.
6The water got dirty and the beach got polluted.
7So, although it hurt the economy, Thailand closed the beach in 2018.
8But this year, some visitors have been permitted back.
9Only 375 visitors are permitted at one time. Boats are restricted to one area. People cannot swim.
10But the corals and other life came back after three years of rest.
11"The sharks have come back...and the water is clear again," said Yuthasak Supasorn, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
12"These things show that nature will heal if we give it time, and we have to work to keep it that way, too."
13Before COVID-19, tourism accounted for 12 percent of the Thai economy.
14About 40 million people came to visit in 2019.
15The visitors brought in money but also hurt the environment.
16In Thailand and other beautiful parts of southeast Asia, beaches have become polluted as visitors left waste behind.
17Manuele Panin, a visitor to Maya Bay, from Italy said:
18"It's a marvelous place. I think it is fine that it has been closed all this time to protect the nature and allow it to restore and recover."
19I'm Dan Friedell
1A coastal area in Thailand known as Maya Bay once had thousands of visitors each day after it appeared in the Hollywood movie The Beach. 2The film with Leonardo DiCaprio came out in 2000. Since then, visitors to the Southeast Asian country have taken boats to see the isolated beach. It is on an island called Phi Phi Leh and is surrounded by 100-meter-high cliffs. 3But the boats and tourists hurt the coral and chased away the fish. The water got dirty and the beach got polluted. 4So, although it hurt the economy, Thailand closed the beach in 2018. 5But this year, some visitors have been permitted back. 6Only 375 visitors are permitted at one time. Boats are restricted to one area. People cannot swim. 7But the corals and other life came back after three years of rest. 8"The sharks have come back...and the water is clear again," said Yuthasak Supasorn, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. "These things show that nature will heal if we give it time, and we have to work to keep it that way, too." 9Before COVID-19, tourism accounted for 12 percent of the Thai economy. About 40 million people came to visit in 2019. 10The visitors brought in money but also hurt the environment. In Thailand and other beautiful parts of southeast Asia, beaches have become polluted as visitors left waste behind. 11Manuele Panin, a visitor to Maya Bay, from Italy said: "It's a marvelous place. I think it is fine that it has been closed all this time to protect the nature and allow it to restore and recover." 12I'm Dan Friedell 13Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 14Are there areas where you live that should be given a break from tourists? Tell us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 15___________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17isolated - adj. separated from others; far away 18cliff - n. a high surface of rock, earth or ice 19shark - n. a large, sometimes dangerous sea fish that has very sharp teeth 20tourist -n. a person who travels for pleasure and not for business 21marvelous - adj. extremely good or enjoyable 22allow -v. to permit; to let happen