Mass Tourism And Ecological Problems In Seaside Resorts Of Southern Thailand
Environmental Perceptions, Assessments And Behaviour Regarding The Problem Of Waste

On 26 December 2004 a seaquake whose epicentre lay close to Sumatra's west coast led to a disastrous tsunami which hit the Thai mainland and island coasts with an unprecedented fury. Some 8,000 people lost their lives or went missing; of these some 5,000 were foreign tourists. The waves did not affect the entire coastline and the localised coastal morphology largely influenced both the volume and the effects of the tsunami. Those coasts which were no longer protected by mangroves and coral reefs were especially exposed, as also those with beaches gradually sloping into the ocean. Such coasts are often preferred for developing tourist centres, and in the process of often uncontrolled development of such centres mangrove forests and beach vegetation (especially casuarina and coconut palms) have also been cut down, dunes levelled and built over. As a result, both tourist resorts and fishing villages built too close to the beach were destroyed by the waves. The entire tourist infrastructure on the island of Phi Phi Don as well as Khao Lak, some 150 km north of Phuket island, were entirely destroyed. The tourism industry in Thailand is, however, probably affected by the tsunami only in a limited fashion, partly because many potential tourists to the area will find alternatives on coasts and islands not affected by the tsunami, notably the island of Samui.