Koh Tachai island closed because it has 'too many tourists'

While some places around the world are encouraging tourists to visit, Koh Tachai island in Thailand is closing it's borders to tourists because they have so many that the island is at risk of ruin.

According to Bangkok Post, the island's shoreline, beaches and coral reef will be deemed off-limits to all visitors, starting October 15th.

It further reported that all of Thailand's marine national parks will be closed starting yesterday, Monday 16th and remain so through October 15th for monsoon season.

Speaking on the development with the Bangkok Post, the deputy dean of the Faculty of Fisheries at Kasetsart University, Thon Thamrongnawasawat stated that while a beach on the island can hold up to 70 people, sometimes the number of tourists was well over 1,000 on the beach.

"If it's not closed now, we'll lose Koh Tachai permanently" he declared.

Thus, the park's closure is meant to allow Koh Tachai, part of Thailand's Similan National Park, to recover without being disturbed by tourists, and is part of a greater plan for resource management throughout the Andaman Sea.

To this end, tourists visiting Thailand are cautioned to look out for tour operators selling fake trips to Koh Tachai.