TOURISM operators on Koh Samet are digging in for the longhaul after thousands of tonnes of crude oil from a burst pipe yesterday started washing up on the popular island getaway.
“It’s really bad here, the smell is awful,” said Oh, a resort manager speaking on condition of anonymity and whose property is located near to Ao Phrao beach, one of the worst-affected areas.
PTT Global Chemical, the oil firm responsible for the leak, and the government had left the tourism businesses on the island to fall back on their own resources to cope with the situation, she said.
“No one from PTT or the government has come to speak to us. We’ve had to find out what we can from the Internet and it seems likely that oil could keep washing up on the island for another six months to a year. It never takes just a week to clean it up.”
While some people are still arriving on the island, which is a protected area and part of Khao Laem Ya-Koh Samet National Park, properties in the worst-affected areas are having to reschedule or refund bookings. “I don’t think people will come (to the Ao Phrao area) for at least another two to four weeks,” she said.
Virat Chatturaputpitak, vice president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, was hopeful PTT and the government would finish the clean-up operation within one week.
“There won’t be much impact on inbound tourism as this happened during low season and it’s not a major destination for foreign tourists,” he said. “It will have a big effect on domestic business for a few weeks, especially from Bangkok.”
“The worry is that the oil will spread to Pattaya. I hope it doesn’t but if it does that would be a much bigger problem.”
PTT Global Chemical could not be reached for comment. An official statement from CEO Anon Sirisaengtaksin, released yesterday, said 50,000 litres of crude oil had leaked about 20km south-east of Map Ta Phut seaport in Rayong province in the early hours of Saturday morning.
