Hardest hit by thousands of litres of crude oil leaked from an offshore pipe off the coast of Rayong province in July last year, Prao Bay on the east coast resort island of Samet is now back to life, much cleaner than five months ago when gooey muck blackened its popular 300-metre tourist beach, bringing calls for intense cleanup operations over the past months.
Manager of spill-affected Ao Prao Resort, Sarawut Wanprasert said his observation suggested Prao Bay’s and water quality is back to normal. Sample after sample collected by the Department of Groundwater Resources and the Department of Pollution Control for laboratory tests no longer show traces of oil.
A Samet dive instructor, Thanadej Setachan, who claimed the oil spill had affected both Prao and nearby Kao Tom bays where he conducted his diving classes told Thai News Agency that he had turned down many tourists who asked to take diving lessons due to safety concerns. But now he can take students to dive as the water condition has started to improve and the fish are there where they used to be.
The island tourism was shut down for the first two months following the oil spill incident. More tourists have revisited the island, especially in mid-November. Even though the number is not as high as previous years but it help feed business operators here.
High season in Samet normally begins in November and runs through January. European tourists–especially from Scandinavia, Germany and England are usually on holidays in Thailand during this time to escape the cold in their homelands. This year, the number of international visitors, especially those with group tours, has obviously declined.
According to Chair of Samet Restaurant and Resort Operator Association Pisanu Kemapan, holiday charter flights normally operate during peak season from November through December and travellers tend to stay for a long time. Now only families and couples are seen on the island. The tourism industry here has suffered a big loss.
Business operators here remark that the tourists are no longer concerned about the oil spill incidents. Instead, the current political instability has posed a new threat to Samet tourism since many countries have warned their citizens about the current political stalemate. However, the operators are optimistic that the island’s tourism will be boosted again once the summer starts in March and ends in April.
