‘Natural beauty’: pandemic offers opportunity for sustainable revival for famed Thai beach

Made famous by the movie “The Beach,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, but in recent years mass tourism has devastated Thailand’s Maya Bay,

located on the idyllic Phi Phi Islands. Now, after a prolonged shutdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic, there are signs that this natural paradise is on the mend.

As visitors begin to return, the Thai government and tour operators are eager to avoid the mistakes of the past.