Beaches brimming with sunbathers. Coves crowded with boats and snorkelers. Trails busy again with hikers and their porters.
More than two years after the coronavirus pandemic brought international travel to a halt, most countries in Southeast Asia have reopened their borders with minimal requirements for vaccinated travelers. Millions arrived over the summer, fueled by pent-up wanderlust. The return of these tourists is a relief for an economically battered region — but it comes with its own costs.
While the pandemic crippled Southeast Asia’s $393 billion tourism industry and erased millions of jobs, it also allowed many of its natural landscapes and heritage sites to recover from years of being trampled and polluted. Now, some government officials and community leaders are pushing against a return to the unbridled tourism that scientists warned for years was causing irreparable environmental harm. At the same time, those who rely on tourist revenue are desperate to welcome back visitors — as many of them as possible.
“The industry is very much in flux right now,” said Liz Ortiguera, chief executive of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, a nonprofit that advocates for sustainable travel. A growing number of governments and businesses are asking for ways to make tourism less destructive, she said, but as the pandemic fades, the revival of some ecologically damaging mass tourism is “a given.”
A month after Thailand closed its borders in 2020, a herd of dugongs — among the most endangered marine mammals in the world — were seen floating serenely in the shallow waters off the country’s southern coast. Leatherback turtles took the place of tourists in Phuket, nesting on the beaches at rates that shocked local scientists.
“The pandemic was an excellent opportunity, in a way, to show what happens when humans are able to give nature a break,” Varawut Silpa-archa, Thailand’s minister of Natural Resources and Environment, told The Washington Post.
In 2020, Thailand closed all 155 of its natural parks to visitors for the first time ever. While they were reopened in July, Varawut has ordered that every park shut down for at least a month every year. He has also banned single-use plastics from the parks and said he “will not hesitate” to shut down a destination long-term if tourists wreak havoc. He has little concern, he added, for potential opposition from businesses.
“To be blunt, I really don’t care if they agree,” Varawut said. “My job is to preserve nature for our future generations.”
Not all attempts in the region to regulate tourism have been successful. In June, Indonesian officials ran into local opposition after proposing that visitors to the ancient Borobodur Temple in Java be limited to 15 at a time and that tickets for foreigners be raised from $25 to $100 to fund conservation. When the government announced plans to hike ticket prices for the Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara, hundreds of tourism workers went on strike. Price increases for both locations are now on hold.Not all attempts in the region to regulate tourism have been successful. In June, Indonesian officials ran into local opposition after proposing that visitors to the ancient Borobodur Temple in Java be limited to 15 at a time and that tickets for foreigners be raised from $25 to $100 to fund conservation. When the government announced plans to hike ticket prices for the Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara, hundreds of tourism workers went on strike. Price increases for both locations are now on hold.
This is an excerpt from an article by Rebecca Tan and Regine Cabato originally published by The Washington Post.
