‘Perfect Paradise’ Falls Prey to Runaway Tourism, Development : Environment: Critics cry foul, but their protest has little impact as waves of foreigners flock to exotic Thailand isle.

There are fresh croissants for breakfast, sausages at a German beer garden, scuba diving lessons in Swedish and a British band that rocks through the night.

Not long ago the few tourists to this island--dubbed the “perfect paradise”--slept in villagers’ huts and bathed at a communal well. After sunset, the only sounds were those of waves slapping against soaring limestone cliffs and fishermen bringing in their catch by lamplight.

Today’s visitors to Phi Phi could well mistake it for a European or American resort, one slightly more exotic than Miami Beach. Villagers laugh when asked if they still fish, pointing to a small armada of boats catering solely to snorkelers and sightseers.

The uncontrolled development has brought a barrage of criticism from news media, environmentalists and some Thai officials, but with only marginal effect.

The flood of tourists has swamped the government’s ability to protect the area. Trash washes up on beaches. Sewage is discharged into the sea. Once-gorgeous coral beds have been reduced to lifeless rubble.

Phi Phi is part of a stunningly scenic area of the southern Thai peninsula that includes the larger island of Phuket, which was “discovered” by foreign tourists and Thai developers a decade ago.

According to government statistics, 1.2 million tourists flocked to Phuket last year, compared to 670,000 six years earlier. From a trickle a decade ago, arrivals at Phi Phi soared to 736,000 in 1991, many of them day-trippers from Phuket brought in by giant ferries, speedy motorboats and even seaplanes.

Many of Phuket’s beaches now sprout high-rise condominiums and hotels, with many more on the way.

A recent editorial in the English-language daily The Nation lamented that the “tourism rot” had spread to Phuket from other seaside resorts like Pattaya, Koh Samui, Hua Hin and Cha-am.

“But Phuket is especially poignant because life on the island was so good before the outside investors arrived,” the editorial said. “Phuket people are now strangers in their own land.”

Even critics admit that the tourist boom has brought some benefits, including better roads and government services and more cash for families directly employed in the industry.

But offsetting this are the soaring prices the 174,000 residents of the two islands must pay for everything from rice to plots of land, shortages of water, encroachment on public land by developers and a deterioration in human relations.

“Local people can’t even go to some of the beaches. They’ll get kicked off by the hotels or feel like odd-ones out. As they say, the only Thais one sees are in bow-ties (hotel waiters) or bikinis (prostitutes),” said Ing Kanjana-Vanit, an environmental activist who has worked in Phuket for several years.

Locals say that with the race for profits at full tilt, conflicts between longtime residents erupt more frequently while the once easy, open attitude toward tourists is often replaced by treating the outsider as simply a money source.

At Phi Phi foreigners are charged $20 for hiring a motorboat while Thais pay $12--one example of widespread “two-tiered” pricing in the Thai tourism industry.

On the other hand, foreign women insult conservative Muslim villagers by sun-bathing in the nude.

Phi Phi’s degradation is particularly worrisome to environmentalists because it is not only a small, fragile habitat but a national park that by law must be “preserved in its natural state for the benefit of public education and enjoyment.”

Anuchaya Chamnarnkit, an official of the government’s National Parks Division in Bangkok, said some of the land on the island was privately owned before the island was declared a park in 1983.

“They can do anything on their land if it is not against the law. The Forestry Department can only warn them not to do anything that will destroy the environment,” he said in an interview.

The reluctance to evict or buy out villagers within national park boundaries has plagued Thailand’s entire parks system. In many cases, including that of Phi Phi, villagers sell their land to developers.

While some of the tourist development--including simple bungalows made of local materials--probably conform to national park rules, one developer is building a large, three-story concrete hotel, and several luxury “bungalow” resorts have popped up in the last few years.

Environmentalists and parks officials have failed to stem the tourist tide on Phi Phi, but on Phuket itself vigorous local groups have made some gains.

The construction of a marina and one huge resort complex has been stopped, and builders were prevented from moving a school and other public buildings to make way for hotels.

In a landmark case, the luxurious Phuket Yacht Club was recently ordered by a court to dismantle part of the hotel that was illegally constructed over a public road. The owner, a company that includes Thai and Hong Kong interests, has yet to comply.