Pattaya city authorities are considering the possibility of charging fees for visiting Koh Larn island, which is located a few kilometers from the coastline of the famous resort. In recent years, the number of tourists to Koh Larn has increased significantly. As a result, the island began to have problems with the removal and disposal of garbage: utilities simply can not keep the island clean. In addition, the island’s sewerage system and water supply system also need major repairs, for which new sources of funding must be found. Therefore, public discussions on charging fees for visiting the island are becoming more frequent, and the fee for visiting Koh Larn can be introduced as early as this year.
It is assumed that the fee for visiting Koh Larn will be charged from every tourist who has arrived to the island. All the funds raised in this way will be used to improve the infrastructure and clean up Ko Larn from the heaps of rubbish that remain after a daily visit to the island by thousands of tourists. A few years ago, when the number of daily tourists on Koh Larn was much smaller, most of the garbage was exported to the mainland for recycling. At the present time in the central part of the island a large garbage dump is organized, which is rapidly expanding and spreading unpleasant smells. If you already visited the island of Koh Larn and used public transport for a trip from Naban Pier to Samaye Beach or Thien Beach , you could saw this landfill and could feel an unpleasant smell.
Representatives of the Pattaya City Council intend to levy from 20 to 100 THB a person per visit to Koh Larn. This is the amount of fees for visiting a number of islands in the southern part of the country, located in the waters of the Andaman Sea. But in this issue there are some nuances that distinguish Ko Larn from other islands of the country with a paid visit. The islands of Phi Phi, the Similan Islands, the island of Poda and a number of other islands are national parks, while the island of Ko Larn does not have this status. Therefore, there is an opinion that charging for visiting Koh Larn will have a negative impact on attracting tourists to Pattaya, because the city beaches are far from ideal and only on Ko Larn island you can find clean beaches with perfectly clear and transparent water. In particular, the Mayor of Pattaya adheres to this opinion.
As a result of the last discussion, it was decided to form an ad hoc committee, which will study the issue in depth. Based on the received data, it will be correctly concluded, that will have a more detrimental effect for tourism: charging fees for visiting Koh Larn Island or further deterioration of the ecological situation on the island due to the inability to recycle all debris and interruptions to water supply. If in the end the fee for visiting the island is established, Ko Larn will cease to depend on the city budget of Pattaya and will become almost self-sustaining. What do you think about the fee for visiting Koh Larn? Write your thoughts on this in the comments.
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