Tourism News

Tourism News Phuketwan Tourism News
facebook recommendations

NEWS ALERTS

Sign up now for our News Alert emails and the latest breaking news plus new features.

Click to subscribe

Existing subscribers can unsubscribe here

RSS FEEDS

The beach on Koh Racha, where tourists play with a school of fish

Phuket's Beaches Fail the Five-Star Enviro Test

Thursday, August 20, 2009
PHUKET fails the test for five-star beaches, according to a new rating system established by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The island's best rating beaches were Naiharn, Surin, Kata and Karon, which all earned four stars. So did the beach on He island.

Nearby, Koh Racha went one better, rating five stars.

Both Racha and He islands are south of Phuket and popular with divers.

More than 300 beaches were assessed around Thailand by officers from the department. ''Clean, quiet, and secluded'' were the three key attributes they were looking for.

Rawai Tessaban claimed credit for three of the high-ranking beaches that fall inside their jurisdiction, Naiharn, Koh Racha and Koh He.

The mayor, Aroon Sorod, said: ''We try to keep all our beaches as clean as possible and vendors making sales to swimmers are not permitted.

''At Naiharn, we have some beach shopkeepers, and they do a great job keeping the beach the way it should be.

''Next year, we'll try to make sure Nui, Ao Sane, and our other beaches also measure up.''

The department's permanent secretary, Pimuk Simaroj, said he hoped the star system would inspire more local authorities to meet higher standards.

''We will keep coming back to check every year,'' he said. ''Beaches can win extra stars, and lose them, too.''

Thailand's best five-star beaches are in Satun province, Khun Aroon said.

Perhaps to protect the reputation of unranked but popular beaches, only those rating four or five stars were mentioned.

Final Word on Phuket and Asean Due Monday: PM
Latest The prospects of Phuket hosting the October Asean summit of 16 national leaders has seen more swings and roundabouts than a carousel. A final decision is due on Monday.
Final Word on Phuket and Asean Due Monday: PM

Phuket Governor Halts Big $$$ Taj Exotica Project
Photo Album Phuket's upmarket Taj Exotica project has been halted by the Governor, who wants to know more about potential environmental issues. The resort is to go on a small island.
Phuket Governor Halts Big $$$ Taj Exotica Project

Two Killed with Different Weapons, say Police
Latest The investigation into a double murder in which the victims were dumped at a national park north of Phuket is uncovering more information about the deaths.
Two Killed with Different Weapons, say Police

MediaWATCH: Amnesty Call for Red, Yellow Shirts
News Digest An amnesty for both sides is suggested in the battle of Thailand's red and yellow shirts; Indonesia quake jolt: Man U vendors fight back; Call for Burma to act on boatpeople.
MediaWATCH: Amnesty Call for Red, Yellow Shirts

Rohingha Deaths in Custody: Human Rights Blow
Photo Album Rohingya boatpeople are moved from Ranong after a second death in custody and failing health spotlight the official secrecy that surrounds issues of basic human rights.
Rohingha Deaths in Custody: Human Rights Blow

Police Catch Beachside Burglar in Record Time
Latest Two Australian mates enjoying Phuket thought a robber in the neighboring province of Phang Nga had escaped with their expensive gear. But police solved the crime in record time.
Police Catch Beachside Burglar in Record Time

Phuket Scams 'Must End to Save Tourism'
Latest With pressure from the national government, efforts are being made on Phuket and in Bangkok to halt scams that are giving Thailand a bad name among tourists.
Phuket Scams 'Must End to Save Tourism'

Tsunami Dead Drowning in a Wave of Apathy
Photo Album Thailand is among 40 nations doing nothing to preserve the memory of the unidentified dead who perished on Phuket and along the Andaman coast in the tsunami.
Tsunami Dead Drowning in a Wave of Apathy

Comments

Comments have been disabled for this article.

gravatar

I notice a bacterial count is missing from the survey, or were counts done and the results too noxious to print? With raw sewage visibly running into the sea, at least at Surin and Bang-Tao, hard to see how the water around Phuket could be called, "clean."

Posted by Ex- Pat Biologist on August 20, 2009 07:53

gravatar

Nai Harn beach, vendors doing a good job in keeping area clean.What is the last time Khun Aroon has checked Nai Harn beach, the surrounding Laguna area, its dirty, full of any kind of rubbish you can imagine, from used condoms, broken beer bottles, leftover pick nick items to tons of plastic bags. The only thing clean in Nai Harn is the water. Have a look before commenting .
A Nai Harn Rawai Resident

Posted by wm on August 20, 2009 09:59

gravatar

"Clean, quiet, and secluded" hardly practical attributes to judge a beach in a tourism destination. Water quality and safety should be right up there near the top. May end up with many of Phuket's beaches still scoring low, but it would be a more useful yardstick for improvements.

Posted by Duncan on August 20, 2009 10:53

gravatar

What a joke by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment! Why don't they test the water? Anyone can rate a beach for clean quiet and secluded. Kata 4 star? With all the hawkers? And all the trash and beach chair vendors not even cleaning the trash in their area and the 1 empty life guard station? Let's not mention the water coming from Club Med and all the stink from the other hotels! Funny they are the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Posted by Vfaye on August 20, 2009 11:05

gravatar

as long as local phuket motorbike repair shops are dumping toxic waste in the ocean there will be a problem.

Posted by jojo on August 21, 2009 20:29

gravatar

I would like to point out that whenever i sit on Rawai beach at the beautiful Nikita bar there is a sewage pipe that runs out from Salaloy or seven eleven across the road and there is a constant stream of bad smelling sewage coming out . Does the rawai tessaban know about this or don't they care about the environment?

Posted by Peter Martins on August 25, 2009 12:22


Tuesday November 5, 2024
Horizon Karon Beach Resort & Spa

FOLLOW PHUKETWAN

Facebook Twitter