TH1803

TASK PERFORMANCE: CASE ANALYSIS: Maya Bay, Thailand

Instructions:
1. Work with your team to accomplish the requirements below. Wait for your instructor’s directions
about the grouping and assigned set of questions.

• Read and analyze the case about Thailand’s government to close Maya Bay indefinitely to
tourists (see Page 2).
• Conduct further research about Maya Bay’s situation and history to come up with a
comprehensive analysis of the case.
• Submit a written report containing the following:
o Title page
o Introduction
o Case Analysis of Maya Bay (Comprised of five [5] answers depending on the assigned
set of questions to your group)

2. Place your output on a short bond paper (Word file) and submit it via eLMS Dropbox.
3. Your group will be graded based on the following rubric:
CRITERIA PERFORMANCE INDICATORS POINTS
The information was accurate and came from reliable sources (no
30
Wikipedia).
Further research to support the analysis of the case is evident. 30
Content
Used own and proper interpretation of information and ideas (no
10
copy-pasted information)
Used simple terminologies that are easy to understand 10
Organization Expressed the points in a clear and logical arrangement of ideas based
20
of Ideas on the given flow of information
TOTAL 100

07 Task Performance 1 *Property of STI

Page 1 of 4
 TH1803

Maya Bay, Thailand Closed Indefinitely

In June 2018, the government of Thailand announced that one of its best tourist destinations, Maya Bay, will
be closed for four (4) months due to the effects of the high influx of tourists. The closure of Maya Bay was
intended to help the destination rehabilitate from the effects of overcrowding. It was reported that the bay
was “littered with trash, while visitors continue to flock the area on overcrowded snorkel boats.” However,
according to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) of Thailand, the bay
needed more time to recover.
Maya Bay was made famous by the movie The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio when it was used as the
setting for the film. Due to its popularity, the data released by the DNP suggested that tourist arrivals in Maya
Bay by 2018 will hit 2.5 million visitors and in the succeeding years, the number will increase by half a million.
Daily, Maya Bay receives as many as 4,000 tourists and 200 boats a day in which ecologists agree that it is
more than what the bay can accommodate.
After the initial phase of its closure from June to October, the DNP said that the ecosystems and physical
structure of Maya Bay need more time to recover and the closure will be extended from October onwards.
Upon checking the situation, it was discovered that the beach forest has been degraded and tree roots are
exposed due to excessive strolling, the beach is overcrowded, and the coral reefs are damaged which is the
most concern.
A survey conducted by the DNP suggested that the coral reef flats in certain parts of the bay have been
degraded and seriously damaged, and broken coral and fragments are also visible on the seafloor. Tourist
boats and their anchors are said to be one of the major reasons for the degradation and destruction.
The first task to help the recovery of the bay was coral propagation where branches of broken corals are
attached to rocks so that they can grow on them. It is expected that 2,000 coral tips will grow in Maya’s waters.
DNP also intends to study the recovery of the bay’s ecosystems and how it will be able to handle the impacts
of tourism.
They also aim to change the management approach for the bay as they hire universities to study the number
of tourists and boats the bay can accommodate which is roughly calculated at 2,000 tourists and 100 boats
per day. Access to the bay will be shifted at the back of the island, and tourist numbers and transport boats
will be limited depending on the results of the study in terms of the bay’s capacity.
Some are against the said closure because it will affect the livelihoods of locals who make their living from the
4,000 tourists visiting daily. They also argued that the indefinite closure will affect the tourists who already
made their bookings before the announcement of the bay’s rehabilitation. It was suggested that the closure
should take effect after the peak season months.

References:
Cripps, K. (2018, October 3). Thailand bay made popular by “The Beach” closes indefinitely. CNN travel.
Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/maya-bay-closure-thailand/index.html
Bangkok Post. (2019, May 19). Maya bay gets makeover. The Phuket news. Retrieved from
https://www.thephuketnews.com/maya-bay-gets-makeover-71483.php#86YDpEFcetSBl1G6.97

07 Task Performance 1 *Property of STI

Page 2 of 4
 TH1803

GROUP 1: SET OF QUESTIONS

1. Describe the Physical Setting of Maya Bay in Thailand.
• Before closure
• During closure
2. Describe how visitors access Maya Bay.
• Before closure
• During closure
3. What visitor activities were present in Maya Bay before its closure?
4. How were visitor activities managed in Maya Bay?
5. Suggest how it should have been managed in terms of:
• Physical setting
• Accessibility
• Visitor activities
GROUP 2: SET OF QUESTIONS
1. What were the numbers of visitor arrivals in Maya bay in comparison with its actual capacity?
2. What are the available resources within the Island?
3. Discuss the levels of tourism development in Maya bay
• After it became popular because of The Beach
• Planned developments after its rehabilitation
4. What were the island’s standards in using its resources for tourism?
5. Provide comments or suggestions regarding how the island’s resources should have been used.
GROUP 3: SET OF QUESTIONS
1. What were the policies or regulation on visitor arrivals in Maya Bay before its closure?
2. Describe the quality of visitor experience in Maya Bay.
• Before closure
• During closure
3. Discuss the positive and negative impacts of visitor arrivals in Maya Bay when it was made famous
by the film The Beach.
4. Discuss the probable impacts of its closure to visitor experience in Maya Bay.
5. Provide comments or suggestions on how visitor arrivals could have been monitored.
GROUP 4: SET OF QUESTIONS
1. Describe the state of Maya Bay’s natural resources.
• Before The Beach
• During its popularity
• During closure
2. Describe the state of Maya Bay’s tourism manpower before its closure.
3. Describe the state of Maya Bay’s financial resources for tourism development before its closure.
4. How is tourism being operated in Maya Bay?
• During its popularity
• Proposed plan after its rehabilitation
5. Provide comments or suggestions on how the island should use its resources for sustainable tourism
operations.

07 Task Performance 1 *Property of STI

Page 3 of 4
 TH1803

GROUP 5: SET OF QUESTIONS

1. Explain the management objectives of Maya Bay in detail.
• Before closure
• During rehabilitation
2. Describe the number of visitor arrivals before Maya Bay’s closure and now that the cove is off limits
to tourists.
3. What were the available visitor activities in Maya Bay?
• Before closure
• During rehabilitation
4. Describe the level of visitor satisfaction in visiting the island.
• Before closure
• During rehabilitation
5. Provide comments or suggestions regarding visitor management in the islands.
GROUP 6: SET OF QUESTIONS
1. How valuable is Maya Bay to Thailand?
2. What kind of experience does Maya Bay provide to its visitors?
• Before closure
• During rehabilitation
3. Describe the levels of visitor use in Maya Bay.
• Before closure
• During rehabilitation
4. Describe the impacts of the utilization of visitors on Maya Bay’s natural resources.
5. Explain the current condition of the island and provide comments or suggestions on how to make it
better.

07 Task Performance 1 *Property of STI

Page 4 of 4