Koh Samet’s fragile tourism sector, already battered by the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, now faces one other risk from an oil spill heading for the island’s, and nearby, beaches. Ridiculous from the Tourism Association of Koh Samet is reminded of a 2013 oil spill on the island’s Ao Phrao and is determined to keep away from a repeat state of affairs.
“We do not want a repeat of the horrible spill at Ao Phrao Bay, as locals worked for years to clean it up.”
Free goes on to say the beach’s natural resources still haven’t recovered from the 2013 leak and, despite the incident taking place in just one area, the huge amount of crude oil led to poor air quality all around the island and affected tourism demand.
According to a Bangkok Post report, the Pollution Control Department says 180,000 – 200,000 litres of the four hundred,000 litre spill are headed for Mae Ramphueng Beach and the other beaches in the Khao Laem Ya–Mu Koh Samet Marine National Park. The department says until something could be carried out, the oil is scheduled to hit the shore tomorrow afternoon.
Tourism has already been hard hit within the eastern province of Rayong, where Koh Samet is situated, but Sarinthip says the oil spill is potentially an even bigger risk to tourism than the pandemic. It will mean vacationers are unable to swim in the sea and seafood could be contaminated. She is urging the government to do no matter it takes to mitigate the harm.
Efforts are persevering with this morning to mitigate the fallout from a crude oil pipeline leak in the waters south of Pattaya, off the coast of Rayong. The leak occurred at a mooring level off the coast the place oil tankers load and offload.
About a hundred and sixty,000 litres of oil began floating in the waters off the coast on Tuesday as the company, Star Petroleum Refining tried to stop the oil reaching Rayong beaches.
The Marine and Coastal Resources Department, the navy and different environmental businesses have been referred to as in to mop up the potential environmental disaster.
For Koh Samet, another tourism deterrent is the requirement to present a adverse antigen test taken not more than 72 hours previous to arrival. According to latest reports, the rule is causing many vacationers to vary their travel plans and head elsewhere.
Koh Samet currently receives between 300 and 500 guests a day during the week, compared to 2,000 – three,000 a day previous to the Omicron surge. According to Sarinthip, resort occupancy on week nights hovers across the single digits. At weekends, the island welcomes between 1,000 – 2,000 visitors a day, nonetheless a far cry from last month’s figures of 3,000 – 4,000 a day. In 2019, the island acquired an average of 10,000 tourists a day.
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