One of Thailand's most popular tourist attractions is shutting down to visitors.  Authorities are closing Koh Tachai island in the Similan Islands National Park off Phangnga because of environmental damage caused by tourists.

"This is such a small island, I would say it could accommodate just a few hundred tourists a day," said Tunya Nethithammakul, director general of the Thailand's Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, "But it turned out that at certain points there were almost 2,000 tourists visiting the island (daily)."  Mr. Tunya says the closure will allow the rehabilitation of the island's environment "before the damage is beyond repair."
 
All marine national parks are closed from mid-May to mid-October during the monsoon season, but Koh Tachai will remain closed indefinitely.
 
Koh Tachai is about 137 kilometers northwest of the tourist hub of Phuket.  It has no hotels, a few tour operators offer overnight stays in tents, but the majority of visitors stay only for the day, eating lunch on the island.  The problems visitors are leaving behind goes way beyong foot prints, including litter and food waste, and gasoline from tour boats leaching into the water and damage to coral.