WE have seen just this year alone a good number of beach clean-up activities done by various groups on the island.

These voluntary activities, of course, are appreciated.  They help minimize the pileup of garbage that spoil an otherwise pristine island landscape.

These periodic beach clean-ups, however, make but a small dent on the huge volume of trash that accumulates on the island’s beaches every day. Obviously, these eyesores are bad for tourism and the health and wellbeing of island residents. The garbage problem has gone out of control that even Chaweng Beach, Samui’s main tourist hangout, sometimes reek of rotting garbage to the chagrin of foreign guests most of whom travel half the globe away expecting to see -- and smell – unsullied nature.

For a community that thrives on tourism revenues, Samui needs to address this problem quickly. It would be too late once tourists start associating the island not with white sunny beaches but with landfills and dumpsters.

Needless to say, the local government should be on top of this problem. One idea suggested by a concerned English expat was for the Thessaban to hire regular beach cleaners.

To start with, according to this suggestion, 30 full-time beach cleaners should be assigned to all the beaches on the island. They should be provided with everything they need to do the job properly, including vehicles to take them to and from these beaches daily.

Once this project is ongoing, it would be easy to get material support from tourism stakeholders on the island. Hotels and other tourism-oriented establishments, we are sure, would gladly chip in if it is for the good of the island.

Big projects like convention centers, more roads and parks are okay. But keeping the island spic and span all the time would have more impact to local tourism than those expensive projects.

If the government can keep Samui clean, word will easily spread overseas about how nice and beautiful this island is. No need for costly tourism road shows and aggressive media blitzes to promote the island abroad.

Sometimes we wonder why government officials have to think big when problems can often be solved by simple solutions. –