Thai tourism chiefs on battle to contain oil spill
Tourism authorities in Thailand are hoping for no dramatic change in weather so an oil spill off the coast of the popular destinations of Rayong can be contained within the next few days.
Waves of crude oil have washed up on Ao Phrao beach on the western coast of the popular holiday island of Ko Samet since 50,000 litres of the oil leaked from a pipeline in the Gulf of Thailand on July 27.
Tourism Authority of Thailand PR manager for the London office Joanna Cooke said the beach should be cleaned up within a week "as long as weather conditions do not change drastically".
Jo Cooke 50’s
Owners of the oil pipe PTT Global Chemical said 70% of the oil spill has been removed with the help of organisations such as the Royal Thai Navy and the Marine Department.
However, some tourists have checked out of their rooms on the affected west coast of Ko Samet, some to travel to other destinations and some to move to the unaffected eastern coast of the island.
TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni said: "The TAT had been monitoring the situation closely and working with the private and public sectors in order to prepare prompt assistance if needed."
TAT director for the Rayong office Chuchart Oncharoen said, "So far the island has only been slightly affected by the spill as the oil slick has reached only Ao Phrao and the other 14 bays of Samet Island remain intact. Very few bookings have been cancelled so far in the affected area."
Cooke added: "We are impressed by the prompt action taken by assisting organisations who have made remarkable progress to clean up the spill.
"We have not received any calls or emails from concerned tourists in the area but understand that head office is assisting locally on the ground.
"We have sent a situation update to our tour operator partners to minimise impact on sales to Thailand, luckily the oil spill has affected just one beach area on the whole island."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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