Yet, the destructive effects of mass tourism are always a concern. So many of Thailand’s beauty spots have fallen victim to visitors who are unaware of the fragility of a destination and locals unwilling to preserve their land rather than fill their purses.

Amazingly, this never happened to Koh Samed. In 1981, the Royal Forest Department declared it a national park. And with this came stringent guidelines on how the island’s resources had to be managed. Even with the declaration it has been a struggle to preserve the island’s natural beauty. But at the very least, the island’s national park status has provided a good foundation for companies to organise and map out the island’s future.

One company with the island’s future keenly on its mind is Samed Resorts. The company owns and manages a collection of five separate resorts on the island, from the super luxurious Paradee at its southern tip to Samed Club, a smaller yet still well-appointed poolside resort in the island’s north. The properties under the Samed Resorts banner vary in degrees of style and luxury with the intention of catering to the needs of individual travellers. 

The economic benefits of offering a variety of resort options to visitors is self explanatory, says Hans Sporri, Samed Resorts Group general manager. But this approach also makes environmental sense.

“There is rapid transformation taking place on the island,” he says. “Samed Resorts is at the forefront of some of this transformation, particularly when it comes to our management style.” 

He explains that protecting the island’s natural environment is something that the management reminds its employees of through a variety of means. The group conducts meetings with its employees on recycling and waste management and organises regular beach clean-ups involving a wide spectrum of people from local fishermen up to the provincial governor. The group is also involved in planting corals, caring for hornbill nesting areas and preserving sea turtle habitats on nearby islands. 

“You have to clean up the mess in your own house, then there is no doubt that the community will follow,” says Sporri. “Sometimes you have to look at the hospitality industry as one of self interest – and you cannot sell what is broken.

“In managing Samed Resorts Group it is crucial to keep information flowing about environmentalism from the top to the bottom. We train staff and they spread that knowledge to the village.”

At Samed Resorts’ flagship property, the ultra-luxurious Paradee resort, all construction is from locally-made materials. The resort does not promote day tourism, but markets special on-line offers to guests if they stay for longer periods. It’s easy to see that this outlook is having a positive effect on this property. Even though it is low season during hard economic times, the Paradee enjoys a 60% occupancy rate. “I think it is a good thing to develop the whole island in a unified manner,” says Anusorn Kaew-isarakul, the resort’s general manager. “We are happy to be taking the lead on preserving Ko Samed’s beauty, and are noticing that other resorts on the island are copying us. Perhaps someday we’ll ask them to join us.”

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