Travellers fear for paradise lost

TOURISTS visiting Thailand’s Andaman coast have expressed concern that the natural beauty of the region is being eroded.

It is ten years since the area sprung to international acclaim with the filming of the Hollywood blockbuster The Beach starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Robert Carlyle.

At the time there were concerns from environmental groups such as Greenpeace that the filming process would damage the delicate ecosystem of the area.

But now it seems that it is the rampant expansion of tourism in the region have made many visitors look elsewhere for their slice of paradise.

British visitor Dianne Brooks said: “We recently returned from a four-week holiday in Thailand, staying in three different resorts. Railay Beach has been ruined.

“We stayed in a hotel on the east side and the beach there is disgusting. If this had been our first taste of Thailand I would have been very disappointed, but fortunately we have been visiting for nearly 20 years. We will pick our destinations more carefully in future.”