Bridge Too Far? Fresh From ‘white Lotus’ Bounce, Thailand’s Samui Questions Need For Road Link

It is already one of Thailand’s tourist island jewels, but Koh Samui has received the ultimate tourist bounce as the luxury location for the third series of HBO’s satire-laden murder mystery The White Lotus – topped off with a role for Thai-born K-pop superstar Lalisa “Lisa” Manobal.

The White Lotus effect – better known to Thais as the “Lisa” effect – has seen a surge in searches for hotels and holidays on the island, according to resort owners, and with the third episode of season 3 dropping on Sunday, Thailand is dining out on the deluge of free publicity.

But behind the headline promise of ever more tourists lies a more textured picture on the small, white-sand fringed Gulf of Thailand island, which some locals say is already struggling to cope with the tourist volume at peak season.

Thai singer and actress Lalisa Manobal, also known as K-pop star Lisa Blackpink, attends the premiere of the television series “The White Lotus season 3” in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 14. Photo: EPA-EFE

A controversial solution appears to be on the horizon.

Exploratory work began this month on a 54km road bridge to connect the island to Surat Thani on the mainland by a 40-minute drive.

The Samui Sea Bridge would end the relative isolation for an island accessible only by ferries and an expensive single airline – a distance and cost that has broadly kept Koh Samui’s white sands to higher-spending tourists.

While the bridge is in a consultation phase, seabed drilling tests have begun to find the best route to the shore for a link that could be completed within a decade.

Its supporters say it could transform transport to Koh Samui, alleviating pressure on local water and power supplies, as well as helping waste disposal outside the limited space of the island, stirring a new phase of economic development.

Panasda Nuansrithon, owner of Grandview Exclusive Villas on Lamai beach. Photo: Naruemon Chaignam

The bridge will give a shot in the arm to rundown island infrastructure, according to Panasda Nuansrithon, owner of Grandview Exclusive Villas on Lamai beach.

Utilities such as “electricity lines, water supply and internet cables” could be integrated along the bridge, she said.

“Right now, the water supply is insufficient, with most of it allocated to large businesses”, meaning small businesses would have to buy water from private suppliers at three times the basic rate.

“The deteriorating infrastructure, including corroded pipes and waste water seeping into the ground, poses serious concerns for quality of life. Addressing these problems should be a top priority,” she added.

Ramnet Jaikwang, mayor of Koh Samui City Municipality, says the low tax take for his authority means crucial infrastructure work needs to be done. But he questions whether there are other, more sustainable, ways to fund work on the island instead of a bridge, which would bring new roads and potentially tarnish the island’s reputation for peace, clean air and respite from the perils of overtourism.

“Samui should be a place of harmony, welcoming both high-quality tourism and ensuring a high quality of life for local investors and residents,” he told This Week in Asia.

Palms tree and rocks in Taling Ngam beach, Koh Samui, Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock

Samui is in a bind familiar across much of tourist-dependent Thailand.

The kingdom’s tourist authorities have hooked success to the number of arrivals, which hit about 40 million in 2019. They are seeking around the same number this year.

While there is increased support for fewer, high-spending tourists on yachts and luxury holidays, this year the government also wants to get near record numbers as a sign its painstaking rebound for the tourism sector is complete.

Foreign tourist arrivals between January 1 and February 23 hit 6.35 million – including just under 1 million from China – a 10 per cent increase in total from last year, the tourism ministry said earlier this week.

But critics say the volume masks the quality of the tourist intake, the environmental damage and the wider footprint they leave which damages local communities, skews the economy – and attracts inevitable criminal elements looking to launder money or make a fast buck hidden inside millions of tourists.

Pattamapat Pettong (left) rents motorbikes to tourists on Koh Samui. Photo: Naruemon Chaignam

This cool season, the question of overtourism has been prominent in Thai media.

Viral videos of Israeli tourists behaving badly in Pai in the north – many decamped after fighting in Gaza – to Indian and Chinese criminals in Pattaya, have upset local sensibilities.

For Samui-born Pattamapat Pettong, who rents motorbikes to tourists, change once came slowly to the “remote paradise” she remembers.

But now the flood of money is moving everything at high speed.

“We used to have dirt roads winding through coconut jungles … now those jungles have disappeared, replaced by luxury malls, hotels and high-end hilltop villas. Even the mountains are being turned into commercial plantations like durian.”

She fears that the undeniable economic boom on Samui is pushing locals out in favour of big foreign investors and tourists.

“If the bridge allows more tourist vehicles, Samui could face an overtourism crisis.”

Kanjana Bunlar and husband Thomas Searle. Photo: Naruemon Chaignam

Anxiety is mounting in paradise as the bridge edges closer into becoming reality.

Kanjana Bunlar, a business owner, says Samui’s allure is its natural beauty and sense of seclusion from the mainland – a mystique captured in The White Lotus series.

“People come to Samui for its peace, not chaos,” she said. “Instead of overdeveloping, why not position Samui as one of the world’s finest beach resorts? If done right, it could serve as a model for other destinations showing that sustainable tourism can truly drive the country’s economy.”

Her husband Thomas Searle, a retired resort investor from the United Kingdom who has lived on the island for 20 years, says already there are issues over the trickle-down of tourism revenues.

The Fisherman’s Village in the Bophut area is a popular tourist attraction in Koh Samui. Photo: Shutterstock

According to Searle, a five-star resort – for example – “creates a closed financial system”, as guests stay inside, funnelling all their money into the hotel ecosystem, which often then goes overseas to the ultimate owners.

“Take a guest who spends US$1,000 a day,” Searle said. “If they book a private boat tour, they’re likely doing it through the resort’s reception. That money stays within the resort rather than benefiting the local economy.”

Even without the bridge, development is creeping across the island, with hillside villas going for a million dollars and upwards as demand from American and European buyers surges.

For Searle, a bridge to the mainland will change an island with its “own charm” forever. “It would be a shame to lose that,” he said. “I’m not sure what the real economic benefit would be. If the only gains are slightly cheaper groceries or fuel, is that really worth it?”