Thailand is rapidly becoming a leader in responsible tourism, offering visitors a wide range of sustainable attractions, activities and accommodations.

Visitors to popular diving destinations such as Phuket, Khao Lak, Koh Lanta and Koh Tao can choose between climate-neutral hotels, participate in local conservation projects, enjoy fine dining directly from field to plate and support the local population.

Koh Tao

Koh Tao has cultivated a sustainable lifestyle for many years by actively reducing waste and investing significant energy in research and sustainability projects. Community gardens, composting, solar power, and natural biogas production are just some of the strategies local businesses are using to reduce their consumption and implement more sustainable practices.

The island celebrates its world-renowned marine environment with the annual "Spotlight Koh Tao" festival, which focuses on marine conservation. Visitors can choose from a range of revitalization activities, from beach cleanups to Thai cooking classes with a zero-waste concept.

The Koh Tao diving community was among the first to witness the impact of overtourism, pollution, and climate change on the local reefs and has joined forces to monitor the reef's condition, conduct regular underwater cleanups, and promote coral restoration projects. Some, like Black Turtle Dive, go even further, offering marine conservation courses, internships, and workshops for visiting divers.

Koh Lanta

The luxurious Pimalai Resort & Spa dive resort was recently recognized for its conservation efforts on Koh Lanta. These include an extensive coral monitoring program and underwater clean-up operations at nearby dive sites such as Koh Ha and Koh Rok.

The authorities of Mu Ko Lanta National Park, in cooperation with leading coral researcher Anuar Abdullah, are carefully monitoring the condition of the nearby reefs. The second coral monitoring expedition to Koh Rok and Koh Ha recently took place and thankfully confirmed that the coral ecosystems in both areas are thriving and in excellent condition.

The resort also led a cleanup operation on Koh Rok and in the underwater world of Koh Ha, in partnership with the local population. The aim was to establish these locations as sustainable tourist attractions and to strengthen the community's sense of responsibility for preserving the local environment. Pimalai.com

Phuket

The OCEANS FOR ALL foundation, based in Phuket, was founded in 2019 by two passionate marine conservationists, David Martin and Thibault Salaun. The foundation supports various projects in Phuket, including a coral farm, the protection of seagrass meadows, and a breeding station for bamboo sharks.

The organization's flagship project is the construction of a coral farm on land in Phuket, thanks to the technology developed by Dr. Jaubert on behalf of the foundation of Prince Albert II of Monaco.

This system allows corals to grow faster, enabling them to be later relocated (in cooperation with local reef conservation organizations and government agencies) to reefs around Phuket that have been damaged by tourist activities in places like Koh Phi Phi, Koh Racha, and other reefs in the Phuket area. Beyond this immediate scientific purpose, the coral farm is intended to become an educational tourist attraction for all nature lovers.

In collaboration with the Phuket Marine Biology Center, the foundation also breeds baby sharks. Among the 450 different shark species are some egg-laying (oviparous, such as the bamboo shark or the zebra shark), in contrast to most live-bearing (viviparous) species. These two species lay eggs that develop and hatch outside the mother's body without parental care after the eggs are laid. This allows them to be bred in captivity and later released as juveniles.

Releasing young marine animals like sharks helps restore the balance of the marine food chain. Sharks are apex predators and occupy the top of the food chain. The drastic decline in their population is affecting the entire marine ecosystem in unexpected ways, directly endangering coral reefs, for example. If the sharks disappear, certain coral-feeding species will proliferate, threatening the survival of the corals.

Releasing the baby sharks is an inspiring and educational experience for visitors. Release events and educational centers are sponsored by partner hotels that want to involve their guests.

The foundation is committed to sustainability and plans to expand its activities to other ocean-dependent tourism destinations. oceansforallfoundation.org