During Thailand’s Covid-19 lockdown, I lived in Phuket for two months. Since then, the island’s beauty and tranquillity – a rare escape from the buzz of Bangkok, where I’m from – have lured me back several times a year.
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One of my most recent visits was in late 2024, when I stayed near Layan Beach – a place long considered to be one of Phuket’s quieter, more peaceful corners, and one of my regular haunts. Home to the Sirinat National Park, it’s known for its well-preserved natural surroundings.
At least, that’s how I remembered it.
What I encountered was far from the usual serene escape. The road leading from my hotel to the beach was battle-scarred and broken, damaged by a constant stream of heavy construction trucks.
Thick mud and displaced construction soil made the short journey nearly impossible. Large craters dotted the tarmac, like the surface of the moon, forcing cars and motorbikes to slow to a crawl to avoid accidents.
This wasn’t the Layan I fell in love with. On my previous visit, the peace was still there – lush, quiet, and untouched by large-scale development. So I started digging for answers.
Photos: Lauryn Ishak
Of legal loopholes and land ownership
What I found was a troubling absence of oversight, environmental consideration, and meaningful regulation.
Despite being one of Thailand’s most iconic destinations, Phuket has long struggled with managing the balance between development and conservation.
While there are environmental laws in place – such as the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act 1992, and specific zoning regulations through the City Planning Act – enforcement is inconsistent at best, and legal protections often come too little, too late.
Even where regulations aimed at limiting over-development are in place – Environmental Impact Assessments, for example, are required for large developments, and the Coastal Resources Management Act 2015 was designed to protect coastal zones from harmful encroachment – loopholes remain.
Projects under a certain size threshold can bypass full assessments, and corruption or local-level pressure can lead to approvals that undermine national laws.
Much of Phuket’s remaining forested land is also in the hands of private owners, making the island vulnerable to unchecked transformation.
Photo: Clark Gu
It’s not that I believe all development is bad. Tourism is Phuket’s lifeblood, after all. But the speed and scale of its current growth isn’t sustainable. What’s happening now feels like an erasure of culture, ecosystems and identity.
When access roads are destroyed, beaches privatised, mangroves filled, and traditional communities displaced, we lose more than just landscape. We lose memory, belonging, and community.
I’m worried we won’t have any of that left in the future.
The situation demands awareness, both among Thais and international visitors. Too often, travellers arrive, marvel at the turquoise water, and leave without seeing the scars beyond the scenery. But loving a place means protecting it. If Phuket continues to receive the world, we need to start asking hard questions about how that’s being managed.
For the love of Phuket
Even now, the Pearl of the Andaman remains beautiful. Despite the rapid development, there are still hidden gems where nature remains untouched. Beyond Layan Beach, you’ll find peaceful escapes like Naithon Beach, Nai Yang Beach, Hua Beach, Ao Yon, Banana Beach on Koh Hey, Ko Sire, and Coconut Island – to name just a few.
Unfortunately, Patong’s reputation has cast a long shadow over the island. It draws a crowd more interested in partying than preservation – often at the cost of Phuket’s natural beauty and long-term sustainability.
If we don’t act now, there may not be much left to save.
Photos: Bence Biczo, Max Bvp
So here’s my plea: Pay attention. If you’re visiting, support local communities. At the very least, respect the environment. Don’t litter. Reduce your plastic use. Bring a reusable water bottle. It’s the very least you can do.
For developers, I ask for more than profit: consider long-term ecological sustainability. Build in harmony with the land, not in defiance of it.
For policymakers, update, strengthen and enforce existing protections. Don’t let smaller developments slide through regulatory gaps. Introduce stricter monitoring of construction in ecologically sensitive areas, especially coastlines and hillsides prone to erosion.
And protect public access to beaches – this should be a right, not a luxury.
Phuket doesn’t need to become another cautionary tale of paradise lost. It can be a model of what responsible tourism and local stewardship look like when they work hand in hand. There are already glimmers of hope – grassroots campaigns to reforest mangroves; groups raising awareness of plastic pollution. But we need more. We need urgency.
I’ll keep returning to Phuket for as long as I can. My love for it remains undampened – but not untroubled. Now, I love it with open eyes, and I hope others will too.
