Island Wrap #76: Visa exemptions to be expanded in tourism push, coral bleaching closes many dive sites, and more

A spin through the most intriguing and consequential news and other media from the last month in Thailand's islands and coastal areas.

Greetings island lovers and welcome back to your free monthly news review from Thailand’s islands and coastal areas — and sometimes beyond.

To also access the Thai Island & Coastal Directory and many other in-depth articles while supporting independent travel media from Thai Island Quest…

Catch of the month

Lush landscapes at the start of rainy season amid the remote coffee growing region of western Chumphon province.

Travel

Pearls, Peranakan culture and rare rituals: this is Phuket — but not as you know it (National Geographic spotlighting less-visited parts of the island province, such as Ko Kaew and Ko Maphrao, although it seems Phuket’s indigenous Urak Lawoi people have been mislabelled as “Moken,” a different ‘sea people’ from further north.)

Tranquil escape at Thung Prong Thong (Thai PBS’s coverage of this sprawling mangrove forest in coastal Ranong joins similarly breezy takes on Phatthalung province and “17 durian destinations to visit before you die.”

Tourism

New visa promotions, retiree insurance reduced (Bangkok Post on a raft of new visa measures — including the extension of visa-exempt stays from 30 to 60 days for tourists from 93 countries — that are also laid out in the graphic below.)

Thailand falls by more than 10 places in tourism ranking (Bangkok Post on the latest World Economic Forum index.)

Phuket expects B400bn bonanza in 2024 (Bangkok Post on how demand is high despite the start of rainy season with Thailand exceeding expectations by drawing over 12 million inbound tourists in the first four months of the year.)

I, robot (Couchfish with some interesting thoughts on A.I. in the travel industry.)

Transport

Twin-track railway to Chumphon fully operational ‘by August’ (Bangkok Post on a project that “aims to cut at least 30% off travel time to the southern region, and up to two hours off many routes.”

Environment

‘Boiling not warming’: Marine life suffers as Thai sea temperatures hit record (Reuters with a video report on the coral bleaching affecting 19 of Thailand’s marine parks and prompting the closure of numerous dive and snorkeling sites, including Ko Kradan in Trang, Ko Pling in Phuket, and Mu Ko Poda in Krabi.

Thai island of Samui weighs ‘White Lotus effect’ against environmental cost (The Guardian)

Climate change could force Bangkok to move, officials warn (CNA drawing parallels between the Thai capital’s possible future and the current relocation of the capital of Indonesia from Jakarta to Nusantara.)

Residents of Chumphon and Ranong rally against land bridge project (Thai PBS)

Wildlife

• Environmental officials are “working to save dugongs” after an alarmingly high number of 20 have been found dead so far this year, including recently on Ko Mak Noi in Phang Nga Bay. In addition to these stories, SCMP has a paywalled report on Thailand’s dugong struggles as warming seas diminish vital seagrass beds.)

• Also from SCMP, a more uplifting video report explains how “Thailand is only one of the five countries in the world to have successfully raised and released newborn leatherback sea turtles back to the wild.”

• Green sea turtle nests were found in Bang Saphan and the Similans, and 85 leatherback hatchlings flopped into the sea in Thai Mueang. Meanwhile, a hawksbill sea turtle was rescued and is now undergoing treatment after washing up sick on Nai Thon Beach in Phuket.

Society

“Kids are too expensive!” How Thailand became one of the world’s fastest aging societies (CNA with an in-depth video report.)

‘A rubber band snapping back’: Thailand’s cannabis U-turn a return to political middle-ground, say observers (CNA providing quality context after the Prime Minister reiterated his party’s intention to re-list cannabis as a narcotic.)

Thousands celebrate Pride in Bangkok with historic marriage equality law on horizon (TIME)

Women battle discrimination to fight for gig worker rights in Thailand (Rest of World on the women organizing to hold large delivery app companies accountable when drivers are hurt or killed on the job.)

In other news

Huge fire at a chemical storage tank in Thailand kills one and injures 4 (AP on the accident at Map Ta Phut industrial complex on the Gulf coast in Rayong.)

Koh Samui under seismic watch after two small quakes (Bangkok Post)

Mushroom hunters stumble upon mysterious stone sculpture in Thai forest (Smithsonian on the carved image found in a Buriram wildlife sanctuary that, although “unlikely to be ancient”, is a compelling mystery nonetheless.)

I leave you with…

The touching story of what it was like for a 102-year-old man from Phichit province to see the ocean for the first time in his life. 🌴

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