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By Jack Graham | Climate Journalist

Welcome back to Climate. Change.

I'm Jack and I edit our reporting on climate and nature at Context. In this new version of the newsletter, I'll be looking at a different topic each month to understand how environmental issues are transforming people’s lives around the world.

This month we're looking at (over)tourism.

I'm still reeling from the finale of "The White Lotus". Even if you haven’t seen the popular TV show, you've probably heard people like me drone on about it.

The drama's latest season is set in a five-star resort on Thailand's Koh Samui island. Its ugly scenes clash with a lush, tranquil environment.

But famous movies and TV shows in pristine locations are leaving behind real-life ugly scenes as more and more people visit these hotspots.

From waste pile-ups to water shortages, local communities and natural ecosystems are suffering from a growing problem: overtourism.

Crowds of tourists visit the Trevi Fountain in Rome, Italy, August 8, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

So what can be done? I reached out to Tim Williamson, joint managing director of the holiday company Responsible Travel, which sees itself as an antidote to overtourism.

Popular TV and films "can become something of a poisoned chalice for a destination, particularly in the age of social media amplification," Williamson told me.

He said many of these destinations are not ready for the influx facing them, as "cheap flights, huge cruise liners and social media influence" has intensified overtourism – often to very specific locations like a beach or bridge.

That's certainly the case in Thailand. In a mini-documentary [[link removed]] for Context, my colleague Ranel Felix reported on The White Lotus Effect threatening Koh Samui.

Previous seasons of "The White Lotus" led to a surge in tourism [[link removed]] to filming locations in Hawaii and Sicily, and the third instalment is expected to be no different.

The island is already enduring a drought and trash crisis exacerbated by tourism, with huge mounds of rubbish waiting to be shipped to the mainland.

"At the moment, we have to admit that we’re not yet stable enough to support (the tourists)," Koh Samui Mayor Ramnate Chaikwang told us.

But tourism also promises economic growth, as does the tens of millions of dollars from Hollywood production companies. The tourism sector makes up 12% of Thailand's economy.

As always, these dilemmas throw up more questions. Should locals be denied those economic opportunities? How much tourism is too much?

Tourists visit Maya bay after Thailand reopened its world-famous beach after closing it for more than three years to allow its ecosystem to recover from the impact of overtourism, at Krabi province, Thailand, January 3, 2022. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

The sequel

"The White Lotus" isn’t the first time Hollywood stars have frolicked around Thailand’s beaches. Leonardo DiCaprio’s aptly named "The Beach" in 2000 was set in Maya Bay on the island of Phi Phi Leh.

The film was mauled by critics, which has put me off watching it. But it certainly didn’t deter millions of tourists travelling to the bay and devastating the local ecosystem.

So much so that authorities were forced to shut it completely in 2018 to protect and revive local coral reefs. It was reopened [[link removed]] with restricted numbers in 2022.

For those working in tourism, finding ways to make the business more sustainable may help to protect nature while avoiding the need to completely shut it down.

Responsible Travel's Williamson says one solution is to introduce local tourist taxes which can be reinvested into conservation projects.

"We use local services (and) infrastructure, we enjoy their natural spaces. Residents shouldn’t have to pay for our impacts," he said.

At Context, we've been exploring some of these potential fixes, from a " climate resilience fee [[link removed]]" paid by tourists in Greece to bolstering Indigenous rights in Bali [[link removed]].

More recently, on a trip to Siargao island [[link removed]] in the Philippines, Mariejo Ramos found that sustainable tourism itself is helping to protect crucial mangrove forests [[link removed]].

We use local services (and) infrastructure, we enjoy their natural spaces. Residents shouldn’t have to pay for our impacts.

Tim Williamson, Responsible Travel.

After decades of environmental damage from illegal deforestation and harmful fishing - including the use of dynamite - locals once involved in those activities now make a more lucrative income from tourist boat tours.

Home to the Filipino surfing capital Del Carmen, the area's mangroves have been growing back, and the Del Carmen Mangrove Reserve was internationally recognised last year under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

But as more people visit, increasing threats of marine debris and plastic pollution loom large.

As in "The White Lotus," there could be trouble in paradise.

See you next time,

Jack

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We often hear about what’s not been happening to tackle the climate crisis. But as this new analysis from Carbon Brief shows, the past decade has seen the number of countries still planning new coal plants halve, and many proposed projects scaled back.

At Context, we’re interested in what these changes mean for communities. Last year, for example, we looked at what it would take to close the world’s worst coal-fired power plants: the Super Polluters.

Now we’re diving into what’s actually in place – or not – to support workers and local businesses, from training programmes in the Europe Union to energy alternatives across Africa.

[[link removed]]Discover more Nature [[link removed]] Climate Risks [[link removed]] Net Zero [[link removed]] Just Transition [[link removed]] Climate Justice [[link removed]] Green Cities [[link removed]] Thank you for reading!

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