Hit HBO Show Season 3 White lotus It was premiered this week and opened the door at a bumpy branch of the dense jungle. This shot is a villa that is scattered in a staircase under the lush Thai hills, and then a villa scattered under the lush Thai hills, and provides enthusiastic prospects through clean islands and sea. I did it.
In real life, this resort is KOH Samui, and Thailand is looking forward to improving major tourism thanks to the visual appeal and the popularity of the show.
This country has previously experienced the power of the world’s screens. Movies at the dawn of the new Millennium seashore In his post, the premiere of Leonardo Dicapriohuge In addition to the peak, the setting itself -another world Maya Bay, the Andaman Sea of the Sea on the island of an uninhabited island inside the national park. It was a popular snorkeling place before seashoreBut the film was interesting, and fans began to flock to Maya Bay. 5,000 tourists and 200 boats Overwhelming the small beaches and marine ecosystems.
This country went with him. Too many community traps were obsessed with the imports of tourism that dangerous the infrastructure and the environment. Meanwhile, the trash barrier wrecked the beach, the boat anchor and the pollution killed the reef, and the wild animals disappeared.
Now 25 years later until the next day seashore Thailand has a frenzy of the next Hollywood, and this time I want to be better prepared.
Lauren Decicca / Getty Image
While doing seashore By starting a community on a secret beach, people looking for paradise who reject the traditional marker of vacation luxury, White lotus Show the marker and then show the Ramber. Each season guides the new wealthy MalContents and locals running smoothly. Both works share a paradise sense. They actually skew the beach concepts with paradise, which makes it seem to make awkward conductions to sell locations. However, the marketing budget cannot buy the kind of publicity they have provided.
Chompu Marusachot, a New York director of Thai Tourism Authority, said, “If you appear in White Lotus Season 3, you can reach a true audience around the world. “We are continuously trying to strengthen and expand tourism efforts and infrastructure to welcome more visitors in the future.”
But as Maya Bay shows more tourists can mean more problems. In 2018, the Thai government finally saw enough Close the place Up to additional notification. Maya Bay opened again in 2022 The strict system is in place Minimize future damage. Boats can no longer enter, and are docked instead of elsewhere on the island. A new up to 4,125 visitors who arrive at the specified time slot can walk along the new boardwork and arrive at the bay and no longer swim or get a sunscreen that is not a non -frast. Maya Bay continues to close with visitors for two months for rehabilitation.
In contrast, KOH Samui was the home of the tourism industry that was busy long ago. White lotus flower. Today there are 630 hotels and resorts. One of them, Four Seasons, opened in 2007 and occupied a relatively calm coastline compared to other areas of this island, and 3.5 million visitors joined 70,000 regional population.
Both areas deal with challenges of climate change. Last year, Thailand suffered Record a high offshore temperatureThis resulted in a large amount of coral bleaching and the death of seaweeds, and Dugongs and other sea creatures died in large quantities. Storms and floods are also being destroyed. In 2024, Thailand experienced that experience. The worst flood for decadesIt affects more than 500,000 households.
KOH Samui is a case study of how tourism can add such problems. Kannapa Pongponrat, a professor of Thammasat University in Thailand, said, “Since sightseeing has been quickly developed without proper infrastructure planning and environmental management, Samui is facing important issues in terms of waste management and water resources.
The pipeline, which brings water from the main line to the core, has been found to be insufficient as tourism grows. Lack of water on the island. sediment Resort and hotel construction Coral reefs and other sea creatures have been damaged. Garbage often accumulates the edges and the sea itself. Thailand is one of the largest contributions in the world of marine plastic pollution. Tourism has been confirmed As the main source of the problem in Thailand, where Kosui is located.
Mladen Antonov / AFP through Getty Images
Nevertheless, the Thai government worked hard to stir the show of the Creator Mike White, ultimately offering tax benefits and other incentives. I shaved $ 4.4 million In production cost White lotus‘Third season. compensation? It almost ensures more tourism income. Since Season 2 was aired in 2022, I was standing for Four Seasons’ San Domenico Palace, Taormina, and White Lotus Resort. It was sold out in 2023While traveling Interest in Sicily. Four Seasons MAUI, the setting of Season 1, Traffic on the website increased 425 % After the show is aired. The four seasons of KOH Samui said that the hotel has already surged with search and booking since it was announced as “White Lotus” in Season 3.
The plan is starting to increase tourism. Cruise ship terminal construction To Kosi in 2029. Airport expansion It will start this year. New hotel development continues to hit. The second water line of the mainland is being built.
At the same time, the government has taken measures to alleviate the environmental impact over the past decade. 2015 Maritime and Coastal Resource Management Act has been used Tourists prohibit harmful activities, such as “walking the sea,” which walks the sea that touches the helmet that protrudes the floor with oxygen. National roadmap for plastic waste management It aims to reduce the use of plastic and increase recycling practices.. In 2014, the government started the “Save Water, Samui Save Samui” campaign to encourage sustainable water use on the island.
But according to experts, these efforts sometimes have no teeth. Suchana Apple Chavanich, a professor of maritime science at Chulongkorn University in Thailand, said, “The Thai government has laws and regulations. For example, plastic waste roadmaps do not contain execution mechanisms, which can be limited. Pongponrat pointed out that it did not choose KOH Samui’s illegal construction, and often worsened flood problems and insufficient drains are insufficient.
Chavanich also stated that many hotels and other tourism businesses in KOH Samui have been working independently to make KOH Samui green for the past decade, but this effort can use more government support. “This should be a cooperation between [the Thai] The government, local governments, public and private sectors, ”she said.
Four Seasons said it has begun this initiative. In 2019, we removed all single plastics, treated Gray Water from property, and re -introduced 16,000 coral sculptures from resorts in the resort. The resort said it is developing additional sustainability measures in light of the expected. White lotus It is effective, but the current plan is approved, so it was not possible to provide details.
Experts agreed that more actions are needed to balance KOH Samui’s excessive damage. As the crowds are coming and climate change and the sea increases, Threat the entire model of the beach vacationCultural cache endures. 3 seasons, White lotus It appears Nature is noticeable, but always in an ominous tone -the fruit of the pong tree in a villa has been turned out to be toxic, and one of the guests is squeezed. It’s as if the island is trying to send a message. After 1/4 century seashore, Whether the message will be received is still an open question.
