Tourism overkill poll...ouch!

[landofsmiles]

National Geographic Traveler have conducted a poll using a panel of 522 experts in sustainable tourism and destination stewardship donating time to review conditions in these 111 selected islands and archipelagos. The scores that follow reflect the experts' opinions.

The results show that beach-blessed islands draw sun-and-sand resort tourism development that can get out of hand quickly, although there are exceptions. Multiple cruise-ship crowds can also overwhelm an island, transforming it.

No surprise, then, that cloudy, beach-poor islands score well...and where Phuket appears in the scores!!! :-(

Guide to the Scores:
0-25: Catastrophic: all criteria very negative, outlook grim.
26-49: In serious trouble.
50-65: In moderate trouble: all criteria medium-negative or a mix of negatives and positives.
66-85: Minor difficulties.
86-95: Authentic, unspoiled, and likely to remain so.

87 Faroe Islands, Denmark
84 Azores, Portugal
82 Lofoten, Norway
82 Shetland Islands, Scotland
82 Chiloé, Chile
81 Isle of Skye, Scotland
80 Kangaroo Island, South Australia
80 Mackinac Island, Michigan
80 Iceland
79 Molokai, Hawaii
78 Aran Islands, Ireland
78 Texel, Netherlands
77 Dominica
77 Grenadines
76 Tasmania
76 Bora Bora, French Polynesia
76 Fraser Island, Australia
76 Bornholm, Denmark
76 Hydra (Ídra), Greece
76 Falkland Islands (U.K.)
75 Corsica, France
75 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
74 Vanuatu, Melanesia
74 Santa Catalina Island, California
73 Upolu and Savai'i, Samoa
73 Isle of Man (U.K.)
72 Palawan, Philippines
72 Moorea, French Polynesia
72 Block Island, Rhode Island
71 Ilha Grande, Brazil
71 Sardinia, Italy
71 Hvar, Croatia
71 Jersey and Guernsey (U.K.)
70 San Juan Islands, Washington State
70 St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
70 Seychelles
70 Anguilla (U.K.)
70 Nevis
69 Palau, Micronesia
69 Cook Islands
69 Prince Edward Island, Canada
69 Salt Spring Island, Gulf Islands, British Columbia
69 Mount Desert Island, Maine
69 Réunion (France)
68 Bonaire
68 Sicily, Italy
68 St. Vincent
68 Yasawa group, Fiji
67 Pemba, Tanzania
67 Hawaii (Big Island)
66 Out Islands, Bahamas
66 Bermuda, North Atlantic
66 Tobago
66 São Tomé and Príncipe
65 Cyprus, Turkish side
65 Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique
65 Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
64 Solomon Islands
64 Jeju/Cheju, South Korea
64 Ocracoke, Outer Banks, North Carolina
64 Kauai, Hawaii
64 St. Lucia
63 Nantucket, Massachusetts
62 Martinique (France)
62 Corfu, Greece
62 Crete, Greece
62 Lombok, Indonesia
62 Barbados
61 Tonga, Polynesia
61 Madeira Islands, Portugal
61 Tortola, British Virgin Islands
61 Islands of Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia
61 Sanibel, Florida
61 Santorini, Greece
61 Maldives (except Malé)
59 Grenada
59 Capri, Italy
59 Tahiti, French Polynesia
59 St. Kitts
58 Viti Levu, Fiji
57 Maui, Hawaii
57 Bali, Indonesia
57 Cape Verde Islands
57 Curaçao
55 Isla Mujeres, Mexico
55 Malta (all islands)
55 Guadeloupe
55 Mauritius
54 Mykonos, Greece
54 Federated States of Micronesia
54 Mallorca, Spain
53 St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
53 Zanzibar, Tanzania
52 Canary Islands, Spain
51 Puerto Rico
51 Cyprus, Greek side
50 Antigua
49 Hatteras Island, Outer Banks, North Carolina
48 Aruba (Netherlands)
47 Grand Cayman
47 Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras
47 St. Martin (Netherlands/France)
47 Cozumel, Mexico
46 Oahu, Hawaii
46 Key West, Florida
46 Phuket, Thailand
45 Hilton Head, South Carolina
44 Jamaica
44 Providenciales, Turks and Caicos
37 Ibiza, Spain
37 St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

[landofsmiles]

I won't post any of the panellists comments. They are uncomplimentary as you would expect and pretty much sum up the mess the Thais are making of the ecology here.

[MrDK]

Originally Posted by landofsmiles

86-95: Authentic, unspoiled, and likely to remain so.

87 Faroe Islands, Denmark

So ... there is only one of the the 111 selected places that get a top score .... and just barely.

[steve@thaib]

Originally Posted by landofsmiles

I won't post any of the panellists comments. They are uncomplimentary as you would expect and pretty much sum up the mess the Thais are making of the ecology here.

You mean the kind of mess that we in the 'enlightened' West have been making for the last couple of centuries?

Don't you think it a teeny tiny bit hypocritical of us, given our earth-scorching industrial revolution and pacific-wrecking nuclear testing, that we now want to tell the Asians that actually they should not be building roads and ****ing their beaches up?

[Datsun]

82 Lofoten, Norway
Amacing place, but could be a bit warmer

[retepg]

Is there a web address? I do not see any of the beaches here in Cape Town or anywhere else in South Africa, and would be interested in seeing how they rate

[Datsun]

Link:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tr...tedislands.pdf

[aussie dollar]

Tasmania is a big island
australia is an island also and dosnt get a mention

[Crustasian]

Patong Beach is getting to the stage that it looks like Benidorm - over built and crowded with package tourists.Same goes for Patts and Chewang on Samui.

Sooner or later the bubble bursts and people seek a less crowded destination with a more Eco feel good factor.The Thais need to pay more attention to just who is building what and where.

[retepg]

Originally Posted by Datsun

Link:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tr...tedislands.pdf

Thanks, should have seen that it was for islands only..

[aussie dollar]

Originally Posted by Crustasian

Patong Beach is getting to the stage that it looks like Benidorm - over built and crowded with package tourists.Same goes for Patts and Chewang on Samui.

Sooner or later the bubble bursts and people seek a less crowded destination with a more Eco feel good factor.The Thais need to pay more attention to just who is building what and where.

yep reckon krabi area is a little less developed,to be honest enjoy it there more than Patong these days,but is a lot less mongering ops there !!!

[MrDK]

Originally Posted by aussie dollar

Tasmania is a big island
australia is an island also and dosnt get a mention

I was under the impression that Australia was a continent.

[Sirgezza]

Originally Posted by MrDK

I was under the impression that Australia was a continent.

Can it be both? An island is defined as a body of land surrounded by water IIRC.

Isn't AustralASIA the continent, i.e. incorporating NZ and Tasmania ?

[Captain]

Originally Posted by Sirgezza

Can it be both? An island is defined as a body of land surrounded by water IIRC.

Isn't AustralASIA the continent, i.e. incorporating NZ and Tasmania ?

I thought the continent was Oceania.
And if you define an island as a body of land surrounded by water, then if you extrapolate America (North, Central & South) is also an island, and the whole of Asia/Europe/Africa is also an island.

[marc26]

Originally Posted by Crustasian

Patong Beach is getting to the stage that it looks like Benidorm - over built and crowded with package tourists.Same goes for Patts and Chewang on Samui.

:

i have only been once but i didnt feel relaxed being in Chewang on Samui
just way overbuilt
give me the Lamai pace anytime

[JayBee]

Originally Posted by marc26

give me the Lamai pace anytime

I'm with you, Paul!

[landofsmiles]

From the Gazette>>>

Monday, April 28, 2008

Thai PM says Phuket needs urgent ‘rehabilitation’

BANGKOK (The Nation): Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said on his weekly Sunday morning radio show yesterday that Phuket needs urgent “rehabilitation” and development projects.

The prime minister said he had received direct complaints from local businessmen that the central government had not done enough to “rehabilitate” the province, which has been "exploited" for tourism.

The prime minister said he would soon hold a meeting with government agencies to consider development projects for the province.

One of the projects proposed by the local businessmen, he said, is to draw water from the Chieo Lan Reservoir in Surat Thani and pipe it to Phuket.

[Datsun]

Originally Posted by landofsmiles

One of the projects proposed by the local businessmen, he said, is to draw water from the Chieo Lan Reservoir in Surat Thani and pipe it to Phuket.

Do Phuket have shortage of fresh water???

[landofsmiles]

There is a lot of wastage here. Not many sinks/basins have plugs in them!

Friday, December 28, 2007
‘No water shortage in 2008,’ says Phuket waterworks chief

PHUKET CITY: An unusually wet December has kept Bang Wad reservoir in Kathu filled to capacity, while forecasts for continuing rainfall through March mean there is little reason to worry about water shortages in 2008, the head of the provincial waterworks authority said yesterday.

Reporting to Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit at the monthly Phuket Provincial Security Council meeting at the Katina Hotel, Phuket Provincial Water Supply Manager Sayan Wareearoonroj said current reserves are sufficient to last until May, the month that usually marks the end of the dry season.

The island’s only reservoir, the 7.3-million-cubic-meter basin at Bang Wad is currently at 99.9% capacity, he said.

The Thai Meteorological Department has predicted appreciable rainfall for the next four months, with 30mm expected in January, traditionally Phuket’s driest month, he said.

Predicted rainfall amounts for February, March and April are 39mm, 111mm and 127mm respectively, he said.

Despite copious amounts of rain falling on Phuket in the wet season, lack of reservoirs has resulted in water shortages during past years.

A second reservoir with 7.2-million-cubic-meter capacity at Bang Neaw Dum in Thalang is expected to be complete by September, 2008, at the earliest, while authorities are in the final stages of land acquisition to build a 5.7-million-cubic-meter reservoir at Klong Krata in Chalong.

Phuket has two main water supply systems. The PPWS covers much of the southern half of the island except for Phuket City, which has its own waterworks.

Both systems use the Bang Wad Reservoir as their principal supply and pump additional supplies from tin mines as the need arises.

With the opening of the Bang Neaw Dum reservoir, the PPWS will expand its coverage into Thalang, where most residents currently rely on tin mines or groundwater supplies.