Thailand and the fallout from mass tourism | DW Documentary
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 มิ.ย. 2019
- Plastic garbage and the death of the coral reefs show the downside of mass tourism in Thailand, which hosted 36 million visitors in 2018. The documentary looks at the effects on tourist resorts above and below water.
Ten years ago there were 20 million fewer tourists. Today’s mass tourism has both social and ecological consequences. Most of the Thailand’s popular tourist resorts discharge untreated sewage into the sea, and plastic waste ends up in the water. This is killing off the fragile coral reefs along the coast. The countless hotels and restaurants mainly serve fresh fish, so fishing boats are using giant trawl nets, which are also destroying the coral. The internationally renowned marine ecologist Thon Thamrongnawasawa from the University of Bangkok says 77 percent of Thailand's coral reefs have been severely damaged. Meanwhile, the locals in popular tourist resorts hardly benefit from the huge numbers of holidaymakers at all. They work for the minimum wage and are often pushed out by guest workers from neighboring Myanmar, who are willing to work for even less money. Small local restaurants lose out when the big tour operators take their guests on all-inclusive excursions. The filmmakers first visited Thailand a few years ago, shooting enchanting footage of the still intact underwater world in many places. Now they are back there again to look at the consequences of unrestricted tourism - both above and below the waterline.
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Philippine President Duterte had to close the famous beach resort because of inadequate waste management. It was only opened when it was cleaned up. I think the number of tourists should be limited at a given time. Tourists felt robbed and cheated when the experience of clean beautiful scenery is nowhere to be found but replaced by foul smelling garbage and overpopulated tourists.
@@Xwrkouts Its a good way to keep influx of money into society.. when the tourists leave most countries experience a huge depression, stores closing people losing their life savings because they cant earn a living anymore.. It's not like tourism is all bad for the host country. There just need to be some rules in place to make sure the places are not ruined.
@@Xwrkouts Sadly, as a Filipino, I agree. Most of my fellows are still undisciplined but, fortunately, I'm starting to notice that Filipinos are slowly opening their eyes. Since more than 70% of filipinos use the internet, they most likely have seen the downside/effects of such attitudes. Also, don't compare us to the chinese. They're more filthy than us. The news here are always about chinese people violating our laws and shitting on the streets. They even throw garbage inside establishments and malls like it's normal. wtf
@@Xwrkouts those people in the Philippines filthy? you are rude. I will claim that some of Filipinos are filthy. But you said those people In the Philippines. You are generalizing all Filipinos. It feel like your country has no a filthy people and don't compare China and Philippines. Every country have a problem focus on your country.
Keyboard Warriors
ang hilig nyong sumaw saw sa iba
Boracay was beautiful before the flood (of tourists and business establishments). Keep it that way. The first step is control. Singapore is well known for keeping itself clean and punishing errant visitors and locals. DU30 can emulate that.
As a Thai. I have never been to those famous or tourist attractive islands before. I reviewed lots of comments here and totally understand you guys. If you guys want to blame someone, that will be our Government. We really have such a weak management in everything. We have problem to educate locals to be aware of how bad it is when we not protect our natural resources. It’s our problem that we’ve never been strong enough to limit tourist to visit our places. I’m really sorry for that
When you guys visit Thailand,It would be so nice from you guys all around the world to suggest how to be “good eco friendly locals” to us.
From my point of view. it doesn’t matter who made those places become into bad situation but it matters how people who love these places try to help them to get better and beautiful again.
You shouldn’t. it’s also people’s responsibility to clean after themselves and the environment they’re in. Specially when traveling. Another country shouldn’t be treated with such disrespect
Unfortunately controlled numbers is the only way. People are simply too irresponsible to listen
Filipinos say similarly but all those in government are people and thus it's a societal issue. Before you get defensive, I say there is plenty of nonsense in my country and the people are to blame. However government employees behave is a reflection of the rest of the people.
I'd like to discuss Thailand with you. I've never been there.
You are right, when I visited Thiland some years ago. Plastic on the beach was not just in the turistry places. I guess I have some of the happiest and sadest memories from Thiland. I don't think I could ever live there, and close my eyes to whats going on arround me, but the people and the nature is beautifull. The first few days I was picking up trash and throwing it in the bin, untill I found out that it was mostly locals who was throwing it on the streets.
In the moring at the markets the locals are running arround with a stick killing rats, and later they act like the rats were never there. I mean its good that they kill the rats, but why was it there to begin with.
The country with most 7/11, but everything is packed in plastic, even the smallest things, and then you get a plastic bag to put your plastic wrapped candy. If you tell the shopowner that you dont need a plastic bag for the plastic wrapped candy, they think you are rude.
All the people are great though, it's just we are used to think differently in the west part of europe I guess.
I don’t think there is even a point starting this convo in any other way than looking at the state of this supposed ‘king’ of Thailand … that situation is absurd, total abuse of the system and an entire nation.
He needs to go, that system needs to be binned and start over with their own version of a fair and maybe democratic type system … not some weirdo king running around dodging any actual duties and being hated by anyone in the younger demographic who know better …
I live at Thailand for the past 10 years and yes tourists sometimes throw stuff around, but trust me its not even 1% of how much Thais dont have sense about this issue. They trow things literally everywhere, on many occasions I even saw policeman at traffic light drinking red bull and throwing glass bottle on a side of the road in the grass. Tourists sometimes even collect garbage around, take care of their stray dogs and many other things. Thailand tourist industry will collapse soon just mark my words, people are sick of their discrimination, racism, double standards and many other things that are getting worse each day. I feel like in the future many tourists will opt to go to South America, Vietnam, etc rather than TH.
Philippines likes tourist but the ocean I Asia all full of junk now
We clean the bay the typhoon blows new stuff back.
The tourists, the drain system the landfills are open
And sadly western recycling is never sorted correct
They say oh yes we do it at a facility...
Yes and it gets thrown out, either a landfill near water where typhoons are or the container gets dumped of the boat out in the Pacific because they don't want to deal with it.
jou right,,,
the Chinese are more welcome now, really a good idea!
@Abassi Adroa Have you been there? And not only for a 2 weeks "all inclusive holiday" in a hotel, but LIVED there? Did you see the environment with your own eyes? If not, shut up.
@Abassi Adroa No, they sell it, and Asian countries buy it. And anyway, it is not your business, end of discussion.
It's not just tourism. I've been to Thailand recently and never had I ever seen a place that sells so much plastic. Everything you buy comes wraped im 2 or 3 plastic packages. I didn't want them and the sellers looked at me like I was some alien. Plastic waste can be seen everywhere there. I was amazed by it
It's ok Albert Hein in The Netherlands also has only plastic on vegetables and fruit.
That's why in Sabah, Malaysia some of the most beautiful spot for diving is strictly protected by law. Only certain number of tourist/divers with limited time permit are allowed each day. In December they completely close it for tourist activity so the nature can rest and heal
We hawe the same in Norway . In the North the Beach are so white and so clean . Alsow the marina life is huge . where I`m from , we swim with the Orcas .
There again that the fault of host nation .
@@justme_nor Must be so nice to see and to experience. Here in Australia we have woken up a bit late, but are at least making a protective effort now. 🇳🇴 🇦🇺
and you build theme parks at Cameron highlands. Stop making Malaysians look stupid.
Yeah but who wants to go visit Malaysia.
Hi … I live in Thailand and area where there is only 5 non Thai's to 2200 Thai's. A lot of Thai's come to visit here on the weekends and the beaches are covered in plastic and items by fishermen on boats floating on the beach (light blubs old nets and glass bottles etc.
So in this area you can't blame tourism all the time. Better management of waste is needed and countries from the west can help with projects that have worked in their tourism resort areas. Better recycling is needed in Thailand and in many other countries, but us the people need to agree stop using plastic. Easier and cleaner to use paper bags, canned drinks etc.
Companies need make things last longer (TV's, computer etc only last for a few years now).
Better if we all stop pointing fingers and start changing, clean Earth we all only have one home (earth)
That is the point.. its not my country but is part of our precious home..
Malaysia start banning using plastic bags, straws and enforcing people to use biodegradable plastics.. Plastics issues is a known issues not just in Thailand but in Asia as a whole.
we all appreciate your data driven analysis, holds as much water as those broken pcs of net..
@@phigupot8976 and you know better..... ?????
@@phigupot8976 wow an intellectual
Its not the tourist but the garbage management. I don't see that tourist in Japan causing rubbish piles. Control the seller, control the hotel etc..
Japan has hard laws therefore expensive , Thailand offers more freedom and is cheap
the tourists that cant swim stepping on the corals made me mad, yes they are a problem, as tourists they should be respectful guests
For the environment, governments always hv to put the system to educate the tourists n some even limits tour seasons. The fault mostly lies with the government that does not enforce n hv a proper disposal system in place.
Aber die sind Faul + Geldgierig eben Thai !
japan doesn't get 5% of the tourist Thai does.
Thailand: suffering from overtourism
Novel coronavirus: I'm coming to save you!
overfarangs you are implying
Over tourism is not a problem anymore.
@@jimjimsandburg2754 long live covid lol
Good thing China jumped in to help with the overtourism
Yeah
I’ll never forget when I visited Thailand 15 years ago we were on a train and saw a local person finish eating their food and throw the styrofoam container out the window of the moving train!!! We were horrified but it explained all the garbage along the train tracks.
I took train from Bangkok to Chiang mai 2 yr ago and realized the train toilet is dump directly onto the tracks. It's just sad to see the waste management codes in my native country is so fuk up. Sometime I really appreciate to have country like US set an example for the world.
I see it everywhere in Philippines. The ground is one big garbage dump
@@pnp8849 Thailand is responsible for the sanitation, sewer and garbage. Those that bring the tourists in and profit from them must charge for the infrastructure. Of course government corruption will see to it that nothing is improved. Using nature and particularly the ocean as a garbage dump continues to this moment.
@@rickbold9337 unfortunately your right most pinoys just throw there trash on the street not all of course
I've told many people in my company in my car not to throw rubbish out plus picked up all the rubbish after visiting the beach
Yes, I have been in Thailand for 10 years and travel by train mostly.
Local train, 3rd class trains on the Northern line. Almost every day I find myself near someone who throws plastic waste out the window. It is utterly shameful.
I am moved by this documentary, and it almost bought tears. what we are doing to our planet for tourisum. I will be more careful while choosing where to visit, how to be - keeping above in mind. thanks
This is the reason I quit going to Thailand. The amount of tourist is mind-boggling. So many other places in Asia to see without the huge lines of people everywhere.
These places would be even poorer and shittier without tourism.
@@Adam-mi3hb They did just fine before the foreigners came and will do fine without them
@@SherwinCeleste-cj7ng only Bali and few spots....general Indonesia tourism got nothing really can be sold since the left wings of religious get more votes....
I still like to go to Thailand but I avoid the tourist areas, I usually rent a motorbike when i go now and just travel up north, I was in Phi Phi islands 20 years ago and it was NOTHING like this, there was hardly any people, no tour groups, almost deserted very quiet, even Pattaya was not anything like it is today.
Perhaps an update, to see how much nature in Thailand has recovered in 2020, without tourists, would be interesting.
just thinking the same thing in Leon, Nicaragua in almost 2022
James Bond Island was mostly closed down, so it could regenerate.
GOOD IDEA!
I was in Thailand this February without tourist it was amazing
You need to remove the locals far more than tourists to see that
as a marine biologist, those garbage triggered my anxiety, when i retire i want to live in a beach house and clean the coast everyday, plant mangroves, grows seaweed, build an artificial coral like that welding lady,
This is heavily biased. Tourism brings incredible wealth to Thailand.......Thailand needs to invest some of that in good sanitation and requiring locals, and their fishermen, to behave properly.
As a tourist I don't litter, my hotel has bins, toilets, bars and restaurants have the same. If thais decide to flush toilets straight into the sea, dump rubbish everywhere and drag nets over coral etc that's on them. Id coral is being damaged then restrict access....how can it be anything else?
I agree. This seems more like apathy on the part of the Government in order to maximize tourism revenue. If you stop supplying plastic bags, tourist won't have any. And the such.
The Thai gov don't want westerners there anymore, making visa's difficult to get. They want the asshole drunks gone. At the same time visas for Indian & Chinese people made very easy. Holier than thou N.W.O at work & they are in.
You are talking about care & sadly i don't think they do.
No it can't be my fault!! That a lovely tropical village, and beach. Has turned in to stores, restaurants, hotels, cars, boats, endless tours. Never to have clean bio diverse waters again. As modern humans. Everything we do, turns nature, into garbage. Think about it, work backwards, on every aspect of your life. Look at the clothing you wear. It is from farming, or petroleum based.
@I'm not flat, stop asking tourists are tourists in my view . It's not me making the changes. They make there own decisions.
It's not just the tourists, locals are not exactly eco-friendly as well. I am not condoning the mass tourism but I think this documentary is quite naive and lopsided.
Yeah, the average Thai person uses 8 plastic bags per day.
@@robertschrader What?! What the fuck?! That would take me a week atleast!
Most locals don't have much of a choice due to socioeconomic inequality. The problem ties directly to the central government in Bangkok and its poorly regulated policy.
Given the current regime and political climate, I'm not hopeful that any of these issues will be addressed in a forward-thinking manner.
Do you watch the entire documentary? It also shows locals are to blame as well (also the government)
@@mohdk2299 I did, actually. My comment above was not an attempt to justify the practice from local but merely my thought on the entire issue as a system.
Until Thailand can address the issue of social/wealth inequality, I highly doubt the environmental concerns will ever come a part of the bigger picture.
Same thing is happening in the Philippines but sadly even the locals don't know how to take care of the environment.
@Watch Dog Um no, the LOCALS are the main issue in Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos and I have been to them all. I'm in Rio, Brazil now and saw a huge pile of plastic in a lagoon near my hotel-it's shame.
It's strange how quickly we blame the tourists or the locals or the both as like we are living in a jungle with no government and control! Yes, the tourists, along with the locals, do throw garbages here and there, but have they been given a better choice? Did the government made practical rules, means, facilities to these tourists how and where to get rid of their wastage/garbages?! The tourists are the same like the locals have no PRACTICAL ways to get rid of their garbages systematically. It's not those Westerns and others coming from their own countries where they brought up to respect the system and the cleanliness, and suddenly become filthy people in day and night! First, provide a good system and then see how the tourists or non-tourists reacts. So, it's not the tourist's fault, it's the government who didn't provide a practical system for this issue. Plus, again it's the government who doesn't force a logical and strong system/rule on those tourist companies to contribute part of their profits to solve this garbage issue. In addition, it's also the government's problem when it's failed to control the corruption that is going on at all levels that left very little money with them to handle and build a proper means to get rid of these garbages and waste.
i mean duterte did good in boracay
"Those damn tourists bringing their cabinets and TV's over to dump..."
I wonder how much cleaner it is after 2020.
#Truth
Its the Thais getting the taste for money! Jetskiscam,taxiscam,mopedscam, and going on.........🤑
@@ryanward10 I was thinking the same thing lmao. Bit ironic to go to a country with a camera crew and film a documentary, being critical about other tourists taking selfies with their cameras. lmao.
@@taiyoctopus2958 That's what leftist journalists do the best - being a hypocrite. Same with documentaries critycizing the rich when their owner is billionaire.
@@taiyoctopus2958 these are the kind of comments I read the comment section for, 😆🤣😅
And then you have people bickering back and forth , I'm right no I'm right; I'm right no I'm right you're wrong no I'm right.
Then you have someone like me using the talk text , but I got to keep going back and correcting and correcting and proofreading my paragraph so I don't get bombarded by the "Grammar Nazis" 😆
As one who's lived here (Thailand) for the better part of 30 years, I have to agree that tourism has had a massive, detrimental impact on many areas.....particularly, the beaches. However, it should be acknowledged that a huge portion of trash is generated by the local population as well..and they seem unwilling to take care of it responsibly... The "Farang" cannot, should not, be blamed for everything .
Even to this day the Thai government does not care about the coral reefs unless a foreign government tells them to do so. They only care about tourism dollars, and the same can be said about the thais in the tourism areas. There's no care about the willdlife nor about sustainability. Everything is about earning money and sucking the areas dry.
but thats how it works in Thailand. The falang get the blame for whatever can be pinned on them.
When they say “Tourists”, they don’t necessarily refer to farang. Thailand got many Asian tourists, e.g. from China, Malaysia and India.
This eco damage is caused by a failing by the Thai Government to make some enforceable rules, such as, keep off the reef at all times.
@White Walker ignorance?
I don't know why people are so obsessed with taking selfies and photos instead of just enjoying being there
I think we know the answer to that: vanity
I’m pretty sure not all trash is not just from tourist but from the locals in Thailand
exactly dude... also blaming tourists for damage to coral reef seem off. They should own their shit and tourists wouldnt go there if the locals didnt offer such trips and or this way of "sightseeing". Once in croatia i saw a boat with glass floor that would take tourists around so they can see whats under the water and they would do very litle to no damage to nature but no... its not our fault its the tourists... Yea its the tourists that make sevege pipes go into the sea... give me a break
Two wrongs dont make it right
After nearly a year of no tourists I 1000% garuntee those areas are just as trashed as before. I wonder why?
Been to Thailand since 2005 on yearly base. You hit the nail on the head. Biggest problem is lack off proper modern waist treatment and local peoples awarenes.
But I will go a bit more further on this important issue. Yes, the tourists, along with the locals, do throw garbages here and there, but have they been given a better choice? Did the government made practical rules, means, facilities to these tourists how and where to get rid of their wastage/garbages?! The tourists are the same like the locals have no PRACTICAL ways to get rid of their garbages systematically. It's not those Westerns and others coming from their own countries where they brought up to respect the system and the cleanliness, and suddenly become filthy people in day and night! First, provide a good system and then see how the tourists or non-tourists reacts. So, it's not the tourist's fault, it's the government who didn't provide a practical system for this issue. Plus, again it's the government who doesn't force a logical and strong system/rule on those tourist companies to contribute part of their profits to solve this garbage issue. In addition, it's also the government's problem when it's failed to control the corruption that is going on at all levels that left very little money with them to handle and build a proper means to get rid of these garbages and waste.
Don’t just blame on the tourists. It’s up to your country to protect the natural environment, and enforce littering is prohibited. So, what did your government do?
They gave all the money to the king who you're punished with jail or even death sentence for criticizing.
Why do responses invoke hazy halcyon memories of Sovereign states of times past when we did exactly the same but without the glare of lightning fast media reporting our every move? Third World to Western World under the microscope of modern communication. How telling!
tourists are to blame too. inconsiderate
grumpy oldman But Britain get so mad when there is immgration in their country
@@melissasanchez7268 Nope.
Do what the Philippines did to a popular tourist beach: shut it down for months clean it up and crack down on the rules.
And lose money? Governments care about one thing and one thing only. The almighty money.
@@jasonkeys5940Lose money? We need to protect our marine biodiversity. You should aware of that! I know a lot of people will get affected but you need to see the bigger picture!! It will benefit the next generation. Mass Tourism can destroy nature and Environment. Try to watch "Philippine seas" documentary of atom araullo to be aware..
@@jasonkeys5940 Savig money because a runied beach is lost money anyways.
@@jasonkeys5940 and if they don't do it the place will eventually become so trashed that people won't come anymore and they won't make any money
@@taeminlee5754 I think he was not objecting to what you said, but he (or She) is with you. WHat he was implying that the government has to be more forceful in doing this and not just small things here and there. This is what guess he meant.
I liked that DW showed insight on the hardship and difficulty of locals in Thailand and on the islands in this documentary. It's important to see from the other perspective, and DW did a good job of providing a glimpse of that.
I’m Thai and I’ve never been to these places before. We all know they were crowded even in shoulder seasons. It is so heartbreaking to see that the dearth of awareness wreaks havoc on the environment. Both locals and tourists are supposed to be mindful of waste and natural resources. Meanwhile, the government should also take responsibility for these issues seriously too. At least, they should have advocated sustainable tourism, limiting the numbers of visitors, imposing stringent approaches, whatever you name it. Not only to preserve the ecosystem, but also to keep the local ecomony going in the long run. However it's probably a bit too late now. So I just hope the nature can recover from the damage during this time.
Having lived almost 3 months in Thailand over the last 2 years I can confirm that the environmental impact of their actions is not a common consideration of the locals. Single use plastic is everywhere and integral to the way they live life.
Sadly true, but not uncommon throughout southeast Asia, especially among the poor and low-income. Westerners might be bothered by this, but then they should remember that much of this waste is generated from the west and China, and that when you get so much of it, it can become another utilized resource for those who live in the area. If we were to look back at Thailand in the 1980's, when it partially doubled as a scenic set for Cambodia in the 1984 movie The Killing Fields, the natural beauty and lack of pollution was abundant. Decades of materialism, globalism and an increasingly disposable culture have long-since changed that. For the Thai population, the plastic waste, they figure, might as well be recycled and repurposed rather than "cleaned away".
This is how it is in all rural or third world countries. There is no public education about the harms of plastics and traditional basket weaving alternatives have been lost and systemically taken away. So yeah most places the poor people have no financial choice but to use plastic. And yes they recycle them you will find people all over the world with a makeshift rope woven from plastic bags and rubber tire sandals ties with plastic strings. We use what is around us to survive. It’s funny how as A globe we see this as a result of individual decisions and not driven by economic powers
So true!
They are not to blame as most locals were enjoying a low level of living standards before tourism booms. They didn't have a concept of environment friendly. What they want to do is make more money to enhance their daily life. The sustainable development of local attractions should be taken more serious by local authorities or orgnazaitons
@@zhichenwang1335As I am a Thai person, this is correct. I don't want to talk. That the people who cause problems in Thailand are mostly Isaan or Laotian people. They have the idea that if they do something to make themselves prosperous, they will do it without any concern at all. This is the truth.
every person who enters Thailand for the purpose of tourism should be shown this documentary first.
And warned of stiff penalties for littering. I mean seriously stiff penalties.
! Some tourist took Corals, you can see them, there are many of corals in the trashes at the airport when they see fine if they find you take coral.
It's everywhere though I'm in Brighton UK and even during the pandemic People from London kept coming down and most of them leave bags of rubbish on the beach to be swept out to sea. They also leave BBQs on the beach when they aren't supposed to and People burn there get on them.
So the tourist know not to bring their old refrigerator with them to dump???? GTFO. Thing is, I am all about people picking up after themselves and not littering but any country that wants to collect the tourist dollar but not spend a little more to deal with the increased sanitation that mass tourism brings is going to get this. It is not brain surgery!!!!
Tnx for the tour DW.
having been to thailand the rubbish seems to be more from locals than the tourists same with bali
Having lived in South East Asia for a while now - I can say your statement has some merit to it. However I find that many of the locals of Thailand and Cambodia are particularly eco friendly. They use less electricity and waste less then the average Westerner by leaps and bounds. Even my own personal electricity use is quite lower then it was before I moved here. I tend to use less each year then increasing my electric usage too. Recycling is a thing in Asia. If they have glass centers then they offer money for recycling. The issue isn't completely tourism but the fact we use so much cheap single use plastics that have absolutely ridiculous lifespans when they enter the ocean. Recycling itself is not yet effective but Asia has long been the most efficient recyclers barring many exceptions in the poorest regions.
yusufaustralia bullshit, locals need to be left alone
yeah but they hire people to clean up the place with money they made off the tourist... plus some area do closed...
@@richardh6525 Yeah but do you think it's perhaps down to the fact that you can enjoy outdoors more of the time and wouldn't be consuming as much as say a guy in London on a wet miserable day where transports a rip off to go anywhere and the fact that Asians are pretty poor in comparison so would not have so much disposable income to spend on electrical goods? And perhaps the fact that the pubs here are a rip off, so now communal TV watching for long periods.... But in Thailand it's normal to go watch TV in a local hangout with mates, cheap drinks and nice weather and the fact that I do not need the tv at home...... We pay carbon taxes here while China and other emerging nations are burning coal and creating 1/3 of emissions? Do they innovate there to perhaps improve upon the old western industrial ways? No... I just don't think it's fair to blame tourists, it's like me inviting you to my house and giving you dinner..... Would I make you wash your plate? Thailand should perhaps invest the 34 million visitors money and maintain their own house and don't be blaming tourists..... I got a green, black and blue bin outside my gaf here, with all that plastic can't they melt and mould the plastic into bins or dumpsters to perhaps prevent littering?? also educate the locals on the importance of their commodities, I fear that greed there is got to a point where people are killed doing the paraboating, straps snapped there. they don't care and I feel it's easy to blame tourists..... should perhaps increase your prices to lower the amount of people coming. I just think the least they can do is set up a working infrastructure to prevent this..... But they don't. And that to me is a culture that has no respect for anything and deserve to have their habitat destroyed. Glad they closed the Maya bay but it really should be a case that they charge more and put the money back into the set up in localities. It starts with education imo.
No -- it's because life is surprisingly expensive in asia. However - people are still enjoying the fruits of the silk road here. It's their country - their rules. I agree with where you're coming from. I left the west to enjoy a better life -- but my point is that in asia you get paid to recycle. I america you pay to recycle. It gets sent to asia and they reuse it. I really just hate single use lksdticst. They should be illegal for consumers. It would not really break anyone's bank. No need for a tax. Just a better system.
If the plastics on that beach had residual value - they'd be on a recyclers moto by 3am.
We had a business in the states that attracted tourist. 75% of them were litterbug's and most of
us who had a business got together and we hired locals to be sweepers and trash collectors and
by sharing our profits we were able to keep everything clean. The business's in this documentary
could do the same if they wanted too. We only paid once the work was completed. People will
work if you give them what they are worth..live...and help live...😍
yeah you could but there is not much left after taxes, bribes, interest, bureaucratic mess that is hiring/firing employees, you won't believe how many business go bankrupt here because of unforeseen costs.
@@wahidullahbhat Cool! So just continue to trash the place and the tourists will stop coming and all of your businesses will go bankrupt and the environment will be saved.
I absolutely agree 100%..we went and still do through the whole ripples. Fortunately we got the corruption out and created a watch dog group and by sticking together we have transparency on currency and of course we are in USA..If you can't make it here you won't anywhere. America the sky is the limit on what you can create and what you can earn.is what you put in it. I know it must be hard in many countries to keep above starving..and my heart goes out to them..❤
You said it yourself. The problem is the ignorant tourists. They need harsh laws for disrespecting the environment in their country, and they need to enforce them. Was it Singapore where they caned someone for spitting gum on the sidewalk?
They don't allow gum over there and they will sock it to anyone who gets caught with it. We have litter laws..however the poor collects It and recycles it. Unfortunately our city officials don't crack down on litter heads. I do agree cracking down and making harsh laws for people who don't care about the environment.
Excellent video ❤️
Thank you for the informative video
This happens all over the world.. not just in Thailand. We gotta do better as humans..
@Lokai Fu Lung right! but we all gotta care not just them
THAILAND NO 4 IN THE WORLD FOR PLASTIC POLLUTION
But we won't
Too late.... Next 50 years, I think, even early..... everything will be fuck up on Earth and every human life will be gone!
Not in America....we sell our garbage 😀😀😀 America japan and Canada are super clean and nice 👍
This is happening in so many places around the world. Soul destroying, to say the least.
@Jiingle Atanacio Planet Earth
there's a plastic "land" mass twice the size of texas floating between hawaii and california, we won the award for filthiest animal ever
Carol Hogg ˙愛安得到得欸得凹凹探討貼圖得嚄餓額額噁噁噁餓喔ㄢㄢˊㄠㄉˇㄜ 死衵鐵蓋
Unfortunately the most stupid people have the most kids, so this will just become worse
Thanks to coronavirus, now nature has healed itself. Many spots in this documentary have improved a lot. People see sharks return, coral reefs healed etc,
less people to see.. more expolited to do... they do close some area
In one year can barely doing any healing
hopely less farangs is next in the horizon.....and more interaction among respectable people( including thais, they need to change their gold digging mentally)
Sad reality in Thailand...
There is a simple solution to the coral reef damage - ban the use of any water shoes on snorkeling/island tours and revoke a license from any tour operator that takes on someone with water shoes.
i lived in patong for 12 months and was disappointed in what goes on there .The river that runs through the city and into patong beach is so fithy , i would go for a walk along the beach there is so much plastics . i came back to Australia at least we are doing some good things here for our beaches
@@jeff6199 Yup, weird he is so proud of it too.
34:31...TOURISTS? Dumping wood planks and broken tv's???? I don't think so.
i think what they want to examplify is the amount of garbage everywhere away from tourist eyes... and i can say with honesty that most poor places are like that as far as i know and even modern "rich" countries are like that we just put our waste in the same spot instead of spreading it around.
exacly! sounds like locals trashing the place to me!
i live here and this is typical "bad westerner" propoganda. the air in chiang mai is the most toxic in the world because they burn their own trees for palm oil. you buy a 2 liter at any store and they give you 6 straws and 3 cups. the westerners are the ones that bring their own bags and dont litter in the street. the thais wont use a garbage can if its sitting in front of them. sure tourists take a toll, but thats the same anywhere.
Generally , normal Thai people rarely visit the southern beach especially in the are of famous sea beach. Because of the very high cost tourism that much more than standard living cost of most Thai , everything is expensive for Thai people. It's only for western tourists.
About 90% of tourist is western and Chinese , Korean. So that we can say most of these trash come from foreign tourist.
@@romeoneverdies Still does not mean tourists are to blame.
One thing I noticed in Thailand was that they are very eager to give you plenty of plastic utilities when you purchase a coffee or takeaway food. You then see the exact same plastic utensils/cups on the street and rivers. The garbage management is almost non-existent. I did not see one street cleaner in Bangkok. People still burn their rubbish and tyres in their backyards. Sometimes you can see the smoke from these garbage piles when you're flying in to Thailand.
It is a country that has so much beauty but all that rubbish really made me feel sad and I just couldn't enjoy it. Also the terrible corruption is very off-putting.
Tax the companies selling tours a lot more per person! Use the funds to protect aquatic environments.
Its the use of chemically toxic sunblock too, not only walking and standing on the *living* coral reef.
Yes! I was just thinking about the sunscreen. Most brands use chemicals that severely impact coral's health. It's awful
Same thing happens here in DR.
Yurp I agree and all the other chemicals we put on our skin ...that sweet smelly perfume xx
Very interesting and informative documentary. Thank you, DW for producing such a wonderful piece.
what I can see, foreigners (divers interviewed) care more about coral then locals. It is up to Thailand people, govt to establish rules, infrastructure to protect environment. If somebody explained to those tourists not to step to coral as you are damaging it I am sure they would try not to step on it. If you have mass tourism you have to address those issues. My conclusion is: we have so many tourists lets get more an more and more money without realizing you will loose business if you do not care about environment. Authorities of Thailand and thai people are to blame not tourists.
I'm really happy I visited Thailand long before it became a tourist nightmare. I'm sad to see what is happening to such a beautiful country.
destroying themselves by their own greed. Increase fees and taxes to increase services like sewage, sanitation, etc until it balances out the damage tourism is doing.
dodgeplow excellent idea, but will never happen with the existing corrupt government.
lol. who knows. I think it starts to happen but always one step behind. That's why beachfront property is always so expensive and has high taxes.
The Thai government will never be organized enough to carry out such a plan.
@@anna_m59 so true !
the Thays have already thousands of millions of dollars coming from tourism, and the state collects the huge correspondant taxes - why would they need more taxes in order to fix the problems of a corrupted political class, that doesn't care about preserving their own country - and their own gold mine of tourism?
Same Geography with the Philippines!!",, same Terrains!!",, but in the Philippines",, All islands Resorts are Required to have Safe and Clean Sewerage Systems on every Hotels and Restaurants in every islands!!!",,and Comply to World's environment and Ecology Standards!!",,..or Else!",, they will be close and slap Fine by the government!!!",..Tourists should not Worry about this Strictness",..Becoz', it's for theire own Health!!", we also have millions of Tourists in our 7thousands plus, islands Beaches!!",,
Beautiful documentary
Happening everywhere in Asia, and soon to be on many Pacific Islands and South Island NZ I remember taking the Friday evening prop driven flight, from Bangkok; staying in a small wooden Govt Hotel, without electricity.and fishing alone from a deserted Patong beach, lined with coconut palms.
If this is all from groups led by a tour guide I think the guide needs to take a little bit more time to explain the situation and ensure everyone is being respectful
It's YOUR country folks, protect YOUR(OUR) environment.
I went snorkeling near Phuket more than 10 years ago and the operator told us under no circumstance we should touch the corals at all and I thought that was the smartest thing to protect the corals - why was this not followed ? So sad to see the deteriorating state.
The mass influx of Chinese tourism is largely at fault. They don’t appreciate environmentalism and have zero compunction about ruining other countries tourist places as it’s “not China.”
This is happening all over…not enough laws of protection and not enforced. Travelled to Fiji and was so disappointed at the sewage being dumped onto the reefs on all the islands. Many resorts run by Australians on Fijian owned islands and they should know better.
*They should have like an activity for the tourists to plant a coral reef or make an artificial reef or something to raise awareness of the importance of the reef*
That's a great idea! Eco-tourism.
Great documentary.... amazingly narrated and well presented. Fantastic job done DW
I lived in Thailand for 8 years. In the capital. I don’t think it’s tourism that ruins the eco system. It’s the local themselves. The chao phraya is choking of garbage from different khlongs ( discarded mattress, old stick broom, discarded parts of a freezer) add the food waste that’s poured on water drainage by street food vendors.When it rains, the garbage thrown into khlongs backs up and caused heavy flooding. Tourism didn’t cause those. The locals seem to have a low regard for their environment. Sad but true.
I was there in 1988 and it was pristine we have gone backwards so sad
The Philippines has those areas as well - El Nido & Coron in Palawan. Amazingly beautiful. Hoping they don't end up like those in Thailand.
indonesia even wurser
This was an AMAZING DOCUMENTARY!!!! thank you for informing us!!
Very good video.Thank you.
Just come back from Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The amount of flytipping and rubbish is fkn outrageous.
Philippines is the same and don't forget Laos too.
Money is everything in Thailand and most locals are out to make as much as they can, as fast as they can and in any way that they can....regardless of the consequences
"locals", eh? Tourist companies make all the money.
Just like the rest of the planet -
Wrong and wrong again.......tourist companies do not own the transport systems (taxis and tuk tuks).....tourist companies do not own the mulititude of overpriced clubs and bars, tourist companies do not own the various attractions, the shows, the zip wires, the bungee jumps, the jet skis, the deck chair rentals, the restaurants....and there are thousands of small local owned hotels, homestays, villas and condos used for holiday rentals
@@stache1954.....not even close and certainly not accurate....Thailand has serious corruption problems.....they rank very high in the wealth gap and there is a very small middle class...the education system is poor because of under investment and individual or critical thinking is discouraged.....a huge chunk of the population threfore lives in poverty, not abject poverty as they will have a roof over their heads and rice but the system is set up to maintain this status quo.....the wealthy classes (including high ranking army, government, justice system and police) work very hard to maintain this imbalance (just check out how many military coups there have been)......this situation lends itself to a certain type of lawlessness which money can and does buy.......maybe you have to have lived here to understand but you are way wrong...it is not "just like the rest of the world"
It's just the typical anti-white European shaming. Economies collapse without tourism...and well white folks have got the moolah!
Thailand 30 million tourist a year go figure. This is why in the Philippines had already limited the numbers of incoming tourist and they already started in Boracay beach and the Philippines only gets 5-6M tourist a year and we like to stay that way.
Palawan shouldn't be NEVER like Phi Phi island!!!they need to protect Palawan by all costs.el nido is starting to get ugly with those houses just on the beach!
Hastati ™ Tourism is a cyclical type of industry that eventually leaves you with nothing but a handful of paper and Paradise lost.Your coral reefs should only be viewed from above in small non motorized boats , these are sacred.if tourists are a problem , no tourists, several months to recover??? Now we know where problem is,.
Please Limit to only 5 Million tourist here Philippines...LIMIT PLEASE
Philippines is already a dump without tourists
@@genericdeveloper3966 Thank you
Was in all of those places in late 2007. Total tourism numbers were 14.4mm then. Now 41mm. The numbers of tourists in those places I visited is probably 5 or 6 times what I experienced. In the floating village, we were the only foreigners that got off the boat. We stayed overnight, and walked through deserted alleyways. We had the place to ourselves. I don't think I'd be bothered to visit these coastal areas of Thailand again
The chemicals in sunblock are the worst culprits for damaging coral.
I've been to Thailand many times... Native Thais keep their homes and community trashy.... The trash and debris absolutely doesnt all come from tourist..... I love Thailand and Thai people... Thai government is instructing Thai Nationals to clean up...
Thai Nationals must set the example of how clean they want their country to be... Most tourist will take notice and respect this and strive to keep Thailand clean during their visit.... This documentary was placing blame exclusively on tourist and that was absolutely inaccurate....
Anthony Spicer On business I expect,why else would ppl wish to come back many many times.I don’t know what areas you talk of where native Thais like to live in squalor.I generally find the opposite.I do know that after 15years ,I ready to leave but that’s politics.I love the place,so much I’d like to do to help but I’m banging my head on a brick wall and dying a little each day from it🤕💀
well ,it is their country!!! the world does not belong to whitepoeple and western tourists. Stop going there and pollutting the place with your presence.
in Japan, there have been complaints about overtourism recently as well
John Volken
Wrong. The Chinese tourists have been flooding the islands for years
@John Volken I`m pretty sure that there were about 30 million tourists that visited japan last year and majority of them are chinese and koreans.
Interesting how they blame the tourists who are their for no more then two weeks, but they wont mention the locals. Most of the pollution and garbage come from the locals.
twinstown01 well said , and to be fair we are there to appreciate not destroy so yes I agree the local peeps are the ones over fishing (illegal) and polluting the oceans
Thailand is bad for that, they blame the tourist for everything, they hate the tourist but they love their money, I make it a point when I travel to avoid tourist areas, can't stand all those people like that.
but since the locals are native to Thailand, they should be able to do whatever they want. the tourists on the other hand, are interrupting the daily lives of the locals with the rubbish that they may litter. As guests in a foreign country, I think it's rude to do it in the first place.
Also, if we find a diagram for the statistics of the garbage (i haven't finished the documentary so Idk if there's one), and if it shows a rise in littering and pollution after thailand was made a more popular destination, its most likely the tourists' fault.
so you ruining the place and then its our fault that things are bad you guys chose to come here and you are a big cause prices have gotten up plastic waste is up
Another amazing documentary from DW
Hi @Tobi Samuel, glad to hear it! :-) Thanks for watching.
Excellent documentary. Very sad what we humans do to the enviroment.
Klaus Cartesius lol no one admits that they do.
The trash doesn’t just appear
richard how is tina doing these days
Thailand is such a beautiful country but yes, the #1 thing i will change there is the plastic after plastic after plastic usage. Everytime i buy something I say no to plastic, and i feel like i have saved myself and the earth 2,000 pcs of plastic from being there for 4 days. The government needs to implement something about it.
Florence in Italy- same thing... too many tourists.
Covid must have helped the corals revive a bit.
There has to be the right balance between preservation of environment and tourism.
This video is too heartbreaking, I can not continue watching!!.... Sad. Sad. Very Sad!!....
You can have tourism but if Thailand government does not regulate rules specific to sanitation and environmental
@Mariajen Xxz Same in Philippines
Tourism is literally the entire economy of Thailand, regulating it is like sabotaging the economy. Not gonna happen.
Why the government??? The local city officials and the merchants who make all the money should take care of their own city.
We belong to this world, and it is not belong to us. Thank you to the team of DW who made this possible.
I worked on Phi Phi and Phuket as a dive instructors on most of the dive boats shown here, and yes not many tourists are aware of the environment sad but true. Plus going for a breakfast to MacDonalds on Phi Phi is not the way to support the locals!!!
Well here’s an idea Thailand. Clean it up. Duh
I was planning to go to Thailand but now I don’t think so, looking at the crowds I can get that at home.
It's not like that. It's a huge country and there are a lot of small places that don't have many tourists. The main popular islands are very busy. Just do your research well. It just takes time to travel to get away from all the tourists, but you can do it. I would go if I were you.
@@pinkflamingo8088 Agreed. There are beautiful islands even in the south that aren't "overrun" with tourists, such as Ko Tao.
in 2015 it was really not worth it. miserable place with a pretty facade
I'm so lucky I went there 29 years ago and spent 4 years back and forth from England, India and Thailand. It was paradise then.
80’s were good times in Thailand..
We are the lucky ones. If they only knew.
Sad what has become of PhiPhi and Phuket. It's been 15 years for me. Not sure I want to go back and see what it has become.
Met an entire group from Arkansas on a scuba expedition. None of them could swim
how does that even work!?!? i am so confused! when i saw that they were going in the ocean not knowing even how to swim i was just like ... why?!?! an added level of ignorance there! it's like going to another country and not knowing a word of the native language! i just can't. no no no.
@@SpoonieSensei right they went to island not knowing to swim. I was confused when she said most don’t know how to swim.
11:40 The mainland Chinese wouldn't care either way... If they had coral reef in China they'd have no qualms about destroying it and they most certainly won't care about it in another country. Also by no means is my comment racially motivated. It's a well documented fact that the mainland Chinese have little respect for the places they visit. So much so that the CCP have started campaigns encouraging Chinese tourists to change their behaviour whist abroad. A simple search on TH-cam will give you some prime examples of what I'm talking about...
So true.
Believe it or not, the Chinese are also known to be rude even in North Korea. There is a place in North Korea where they pay respect to the statue of the father and grandfather of Kim Jong Un. The tourists are allowed to go there. You have to offer flowers and bow your head if you want to go to that place. The Chinese tourists are banned in that place. lol.
Big chek, chinese children collected star fish in the Beach in cebu, and just lelf them at their room besides ours. Their parents didnt Even care...
👎👎racist
Exactly..wait until the Mainland Chinese bumpkin onslaught really begins...the sheer volume will be jaw dropping..they throng restaurants and climb over each other now to claw at a buffet...soon they’ll occupy entire streets like in Cambodia...
When the sea dies , we go next!
shut up fool. the sea will be alive a long time after humans have killed themselves
I was in koh samet last year and i was horrified by the waste lying around everywhere. The whole island was like a dumb😢 it breaks my heart💔
well, we dont have coral reefs in the UK but I sure understand that standing on one isnt good. its about education and governments enforcing policy.
Should educate local and tourists to understand environment damage cause. This is government responsibility also.
this is saddening and really heartbreaking
Thanks for showing the truth.
I'm from the Philippines and there are times that it's better for us to have just moderate tourists compared to Thailand and Bali. The effects of overtourism sometimes does more harm than food in many aspects.
Tourists do not bring TVs with them and then throw them away in Thailand!
lol
Youre so dum,!
Certainly not the Tvs lol! But yes, the tourists, along with the locals, do throw garbages here and there, but have they been given a better choice? Did the government made practical rules, means, facilities to these tourists how and where to get rid of their wastage/garbages?! The tourists are the same like the locals have no PRACTICAL ways to get rid of their garbages systematically. It's not those Westerns and others coming from their own countries where they brought up to respect the system and the cleanliness, and suddenly become filthy people in day and night! First, provide a good system and then see how the tourists or non-tourists reacts. So, it's not the tourist's fault, it's the government who didn't provide a practical system for this issue. Plus, again it's the government who doesn't force a logical and strong system/rule on those tourist companies to contribute part of their profits to solve this garbage issue. In addition, it's also the government's problem when it's failed to control the corruption that is going on at all levels that left very little money with them to handle and build a proper means to get rid of these garbages and waste.
Endangered paradise is a fascinating and poignant documentary! I truly did appreciate it so much. Thanks a lot for sharing! Keep it up!
28:33 "All that is left just one thing, A photo, A Selfie, to show that they were there", LOL, that is reality in this day.....
If they made plastic from hemp it would all just biodegrade away.
why don't they build water cleaning plants so you can filter water ? then they don't need to sell water in bottles. I also think documentary says everything is tourism fault. The locals also pollute a lot and tons of stuff from china/india/indonesia wich they just throw in ocean from villages or rivers close the ocean. Also ships going from/to china to support 1,8 billion ppl passing these waters everyday.
i know people living here in the UK who have come from foreign countrys who always buy bottled water because they don't trust the domestic supply, even though here in the UK the tap water has to be drinkable by law and the companies would get heavy fines if it were not. the solution is to have a high tax on the container to encourage people to bring resuable ones like you say, water filters dont need to be big, for example the Life Straw
Everywhere you go in Thailand there are water filtering stations where the locals can buy water for 1 baht a litre
@@nateman10 there could just tax the hotels , dive shops beach access passes etc then redistribute that wealth trough education , water filtration for waste water ,pay locals as garbage cleaners etc ... i do agree that taxation is theft but fees can easily be included into things like access to land near the water / beachfront properties etc...
I was a diving instructor in Thailand in 2003. Back then it was a beautiful place for off the beaten track backpackers. There were no speed boats, just traditional Thai boats. I have not dared to go back since. Don't give those coral shoes, let them cut their feet on coral and get an infection so they never do it again! Also ban in-water activities for people who can not swim. Who snorkels with a life jacket?! Ridiculous. Chinese tourists have ruined the charm of everywhere.
Mongol hoards
1983 when my us navy ship docked it was gorgeous wish would have taken pictures for sure but did not
The real problem is mass corruption with Thailand ranking 101st in the world. Where does all of that tourism money go? Clearly not to Thai commoners who mostly can’t afford to travel abroad like these tourists coming to their country staying in luxury resorts and hotels where a night could be the equivalent of their monthly wage. I was in Phuket for the first time this year and most parts of the island still resemble a third world country.
Mass tourism is like locust consuming everything in its path. Garbage and plastic waste is a global epidemic. Will do my part to avoid these places of mass tourism.
Dont travel & dont get kids.. thats the biggest things you can do for mother earth.. cant stand ppl who nag on everyone else about not being green enough, but the same ppl travel (by plane) atleast once every year & at home they take the car everywhere else..
Humans are like locusts, this is old news just now tech advanced in package of stuff and the ability to fly across to anywhere
People say this and that, but humans live in their mess
I accept that I'm a part of the plauge
I also believe we will not change
30 years agp thailand was great ...not now !
There is a carrying capacity and then there is GREED!
it died around 2002
First time I was in Thailand was 1982 and Phuket was Great ! No tourists back in those days.
You are not visiting the right places......Thailand is still magical but you have to get off the main beaches to see it.
@@joejoe809 1991 , still a beauty that time. Never going back to Thailand again.
Thai's need to bring education and laws to protect the coral as soon there will be no coral left and no tourists..Lived in Thailand and i seen it first hand how tourism and the needs to Thai culture have declined by bad management of natural beauty
great documentary! thank you for making awareness!
have been to Thailand few times and witnessed myself everything said here! we have to protect the environment
Hi @WW 88, thanks for watching and sharing your experience!
Flying to Thailand from time to time is not "protecting the environment".