Closed beach made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio to reopen after three years

It was the beach first made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio, but the mass tourism resulted in Maya Bay’s controversial closure. Now, after three years, it’s back in business.

The stunning beach made famous by Leonardo DiCaprio’s film, The Beach, will reopen in 2022 after being closed for three years.

Thai authorities have announced that they will be reopening the famous Maya Bay beach from January 2022, nearly three years after it was shut down due to environmental damage caused by mass tourism.

Maya Bay, made famous in the film The Beach, was closed in 2018 over mass tourism. Picture: Humphrey Muleba

The stunning stretch of sand is situated in the Ko Phi Phi island in the Andaman Sea, and given the tumultuous 18 months amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand hopes the region will again serve as a tourist attraction.

Earlier this month, Thailand reduced the obligatory quarantine period to just one night for travellers vaccinated against Covid-19 from 62 countries.

The stunning beach at Maya Bay beach in Krabi, Thailand will reopen in 2022. Picture: iStock

Despite the reopening, visiting the beach won’t be the same as it was prior to 2018.

The Thai environment ministry said on its Facebook page that the number of tourists allowed at the site would be limited to prevent damage to the corals and natural habitat restored during the three years of closure.

According to CNN, only eight speedboats will be allowed to dock there at a time, and visits will be capped at one hour, with a maximum of 300 tourists allowed per round, from 10am-4pm daily.

The beach will be reopened to select tourists daily. Picture: iStock

The closure of Maya Bay had been criticised by the sector, given the popularity of Thailand’s Krabi province with tourists.

Before the pandemic struck, tourism accounted for 12 to 20 per cent of Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP).