Since the release of HBO’s “The White Lotus” Season 3, travel interest in Thailand has skyrocketed, raising concerns about overtourism and environmental degradation.
Overcrowded Beach. Rawpixe. CC0.
Coined by Brad Nelson, the “White Lotus Effect” describes a surge in travel to locations featured on the hit HBO show “The White Lotus.” Season 3 is set in Thailand on the island of Koh Samui, and already there has been a massive increase in tourism interest both to Samui and Thailand as a whole. While the tourism sector comprises an integral part of Thailand’s economy, this sharp increase in visitors may strain natural resources and exacerbate environmental issues.
Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui. Sarah Lou. CC BY 2.0.
What is Overtourism?
Overtourism is a relatively new phenomenon. Essentially, the term encapsulates the overabundance of visitors in one place, rendering potentially negative social and environmental effects. Overtourism in Bali, for instance, has strained the island’s natural resources, leading to water scarcity, plastic waste, overcrowding and unregulated development. Similarly, after the 2000 film “The Beach” starring Leonardo DiCaprio popularized Thailand’s Maya Bay, a surge in tourism led to years of environmental degradation that depleted coral reefs and polluted pristine beaches. The media exacerbates overtourism when coverage privileges certain places, capitalizing on trends to drive clicks and traffic. Publications from Glamour to The New York Times have doted on the locales featured in “The White Lotus” as the next big thing in travel, without thinking critically about how these places might struggle to sustainably accommodate large spikes in visitors.
Cast of “The White Lotus” Season 3 in Thailand. Simone Rossi. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
The White Lotus Effect
Previous seasons of the show have been set in Maui and Sicily, setting a precedent for increased interest from international visitors. Diletta Giorgolo Spinola, head of residential Italy for Sotheby’s International Realty, told Forbes that two months after “The White Lotus” Season 2 aired, they “had twice as many American and British buyers looking [in Sicily].” The Four Seasons in Taormina, where much of the season was filmed, was completely booked for six months after production wrapped. Similarly, the set for Season 1, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, Hawaii, reported a 425% uptick in website visits and a 386% increase in availability checks. When Thailand was announced as the setting for Season 3 in mid 2024, booking platforms reported increases in searches, and airlines added flights to cities like Phuket. A spokesperson for Four Seasons Koh Samui told Business Insider that they are experiencing a similar surge in availability checks, searches and bookings. And it’s not just the Four Seasons, as Season 3 of The White Lotus follows characters outside of the hotel to the mainland cities of Phuket and Bangkok. The Director of Thailand’s Tourism Authority anticipates a 20% rise in tourism as a result of the show.
Koh Tao Island, Mountains of Trash on Both Sides of the Road. Myat T. Aung. CC BY-SA 4.0
Environmental Concerns in Koh Samui
On one hand, tourism stimulates both the local and national economy by contributing significantly to the country's GDP, generating a large number of jobs across sectors like hospitality, transportation, and retail, and improving infrastructure. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism in Thailand declined drastically, with negative effects on the economy. The Four Seasons Koh Samui’s partnership with the HBO series offers a promising way to boost tourism, and seems to be working so far. On the other hand, hyper-tourism to Koh Samui could overwhelm the small island, which is already struggling with issues of water scarcity and garbage processing. The majority of water is brought to Samui via an underwater pipeline from the mainland, but this supply is not enough for all of the island’s residents, and reservoirs are not full enough to compensate. Luxury hotels are able to purchase water privately, but this is not affordable for locals. “Since tourism rapidly developed without proper infrastructure planning and environmental management, Samui is facing critical problems in terms of waste management and water resources,” Kannapa Pongponrat, a professor at Thailand’s Thammasat University, told a reporter at Teen Vogue. Without proper waste management, trash accumulates along roads and in the ocean. Increased tourism will only generate more garbage, contributing to Thailand’s standing as one of the world’s biggest contributors to marine plastic pollution. Finally, the continued development of luxury tourism infrastructure increases the risk of landslides and flooding while causing sediment damages to coral reefs and marine life. Increased boat and beach traffic have also disrupted ocean critters. Storms and flooding grow increasingly destructive as the effects of climate change worsen, and tourism development only exacerbates this.
Is There a Solution?
It is possible to balance the environmental concerns of tourism with its socio-economic benefits, but this requires collaboration between national and local government, and the public and private sectors. This entails promoting off-season travel, limiting numbers where possible and imposing stricter regulations, similar to those implemented in the Faroe Islands. Encouraging more interaction between tourists and locals while traveling can help ensure that exclusivity does not merely serve profit.
Kleigh Carroll
Kleigh is a student at UC Berkeley studying Geography and Journalism. She hopes to integrate her skills in these fields in pursuit of a career in journalism. She is passionate about being outside, exploring, and writing in all of its forms.