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.
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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.
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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.
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