Alcohol banned at national parks after complaints of trash and drunk tourists

Alcohol is now banned at national parks after tourists allegedly got drunk at a waterfall and others left a load of trash by their campsite. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation has updated other park rules to make sure parks are kept clean and the wildlife isn’t disturbed.

Just last week, trash left at a campsite at Khao Yai National Park was boxed up in a parcel and sent back to the campers. Thailand’s Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa says he will blacklist certain tourists from national parks if they litter or cause damage to protected areas.

“We kindly ask every tourist to put garbage in the provided areas because the garbage that you left may kill wild animals that come down around the area looking for food. In this case, we purposefully collected all your rubbish in a box and sent them to your home as a souvenir as a lesson to not litter anywhere ever again.”

Other tourists were allegedly drunk and making a lot of noise at the Namtok Samlan National Park, Varawut says. He says both groups of tourists face charges for their actions.

Here are some of the revised rules…

• Alcohol is banned at national parks for the time being
• Loud noise is not allowed after 9pm and noise must be stopped at 10pm
• When renting a tent, tourists must provide identification, address and phone number

“Those who break the rules will be asked to leave and may face legal actions as well as being banned from other national parks. Camping equipment can also be confiscated.”

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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