Islands starting to limit number of tourists per year
Tourists to Lawa Yai Island which is part of Ao Phang Nga national park in Phang Nga province will be limited, beginning Thursday (February 15), national park chief Sarayuth Tanthien said yesterday.
He said limiting the number of tourists to Lawa Yai Island has been declared and will become effective February 15.
The limiting of the number of tourists to Lawa Yai Island would be the prototype for environmental conservation and protection for other marine national parks of the country, he said.
Under the new announcement, only 100 tourists are permitted to the island at a time and it will be closed to tourists from 5.00pm until 06.00am.
He asked tour operators to notice flag colours raised in front of the national park office at Lawa Yai Island.
Green colour flag means normal entry, while “Yellow” colour means number of visitors to the island is almost full, while “Red” colour means no entry as the number of tourists has reached the limit.
He also said large tourist boats are not allowed to anchor within 200 metres from the beach or the navigational buoys.
All sea activities must be held within the specified areas and, tour operators and tourists must strictly abide by the safety regulations of the park.
Lawa Yai Island is about one kilometer long and half-a-kilometer at its widest point. The island has almost 2.2 kilometres of coastline, and just 280,000 square metres.
Source: PBS
