The Supreme Court of Thailand “imposed” a fine of 10 million Thai baht for environmental damage to the Hollywood film company 20th Century Fox. This is how the court decided the case of compensation for environmental damage caused by the movie “The Beach” (2000) with Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. “The film company destroyed the beach, which is part of the national park,” ecologists said, and its subsequent popularity among travelers in connection with “cinema tourism” only exacerbated the situation.
It will be recalled that the shooting of the film “The Beach” began in Maya Bay on the Phi Phi Islands in Krabi Province, in the south of Thailand, in 1998. As the authors of the lawsuit assure, the reconstruction had a devastating and long-lasting effect on the natural environment of the foundations. For example, the uprooting of plants on Maya Beach and the leveling of the barrier dunes led to massive soil erosion—that is, without the plants, all the sand was simply washed out to sea. At the same time, the beach was expanded for the film, which meant the removal of natural barriers protecting it from the sea.
As a result, the film company was prosecuted for offenses under Thailand’s National Parks Act (1961) and the National Environmental Protection and Promotion Act (1992). Thailand’s Forestry Department was also accused of giving the film company the green light to “renovate” Maya Bay.
As a result, the Supreme Court ordered Thailand’s Forestry Department to use 10 million baht from 20th Century Studios to restore the natural environment in Maya Bay to its natural state.
We will remind you that the bay was closed for visitors several times. The 250-meter long beach in Maya Bay was last opened to tourists in January this year after three and a half years of closure. However, tourist access was carried out with strict environmental protection measures, with a maximum of 375 tourists allowed per hour and only between 10 am and 4 pm. In July, the bay was closed to visitors again. The next opening is expected on October 1.