My condolences to the families of the 47 Chinese holidaymakers who were killed when the diving boat they were on sank in the waters off Phuket in a fierce storm on July 5. It's a massive loss.
The tragedy has hit the island's tourism sector hard, but it is only the latest in a long list of problems there. We have heard of tourist scams, wildlife exploitation, forest encroachment, human trafficking and more. All of these are byproducts of rampant tourism.
In the latest incident, two boats capsized. The other was carrying 35 tourists and seven crew, but all survived without injury. In contrast, nearly half of those aboard the Phoenix did not make it out alive.
When the news hit the headlines, several agencies scrambled to take action. This is no surprise. Police launched a probe into the owners of the two boats. The managing director of the Phoenix, run by the TC Blue Dream Company, as well as the captain and mechanics were all charged with "recklessness causing death and injuries to others".
The probe was later extended to cover other issues and authorities raided properties belonging to a key shareholder in the second boat. Additionally, the chief of Phuket's marine office was temporarily removed from his post and the navy ordered local authorities to better regulate tourist boats. But despite the raft of regulations, the real problem still centres on their enforcement.
Back in 2013, Barbadian singer Rihanna took a break from her Diamonds World Tour to drop by Phuket, where she posted a link on Twitter to an Instagram photo that showed her in sunglasses with a furry primate called a slow loris, an endangered species. She later tweeted some comments about what she saw at an adult sex show on the resort island.
Local police responded by arresting two people for illegally using the loris as a tourist attraction. But where were they before that famous tweet?
Meanwhile, when a national forest official raided hotels and resorts suspected of encroaching on national parks in 2012 and 2014, local officials swarmed over the luxury properties located in green forestland. But those same properties are still in operation today.
In the aftermath of this month's ferry tragedy, Chinese tourists have cancelled over 7,700 room bookings, while we engage in a blame game (many fingers have been pointed at the Phoenix's owner). As a healing measure, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports forked out 30 million baht to compensate the injured and families of the deceased. Such a knee-jerk reaction is very familiar. Of course, there have been pledges of better tourism management, but believe me, they will soon evaporate when the issue fades from the public eye.
Tourist boat accidents are not uncommon during the monsoon, making that a "no go" for locals. Each fresh mishap prompts meetings and agreements to tighten regulations, but it's a pity there is no long-term goal to make Phuket a sustainable travel destination.
Phuket is my hometown. It has changed enormously since the day my father first saw a Japanese tourist lying on a hammock on an empty beach there in the 1970s. It now welcomes an astonishing 13 million tourists a year.
When tourism started to boom in Phuket in the 1980s, the term "sustainability" was not a buzzword. Once a seasonal spot, it has now become an evergreen destination. There is no longer a clear "low" season as the authorities shift gear during the rainy season and promote cultural tours featuring local cuisine and colonial-style architecture.
As I mentioned, Thailand has safety laws and regulations on environmental protection, but the way they are enforced is farcical. Money talks and greedy operators seem risk-prone.
Anyone who speaks up about the problems is likely to be accused of trying to sabotage the local economy. I was once threatened in front of state officials by businessmen unhappy with my reports on beach encroachment. And when haze from Indonesia engulfed Phuket in 2015, the authorities were reluctant to issue a health warning, to avoid crimping tourism.
Tourism provides jobs, incomes and other opportunities. It drives the economy. The question is: How do we ensure those running the show respect sustainability?
The authorities will likely blame the fate of the Phoenix on bad weather or carelessness. But the real problem is too many tourists are flocking there, in an unsustainable way. It's time for a clean-up; otherwise, Phuket may end up a ghost island.
Paritta Wangkiat is a columnist, Bangkok Post.