MAYA BAY
This Vimeo clip (available at: https://vimeo.com/129286980), titled “Maya Bay Sleep Aboard” perfectly highlights the brand equity (Keller, 2012) embedded in Maya Bay.
Where is the Video Shot?
The landscape depicted in the above Vimeo clip is Maya Bay, a beach on Phi-Phi Le island in Krabi province, Thailand. It is perhaps best known for being the setting of the 2000 film “The Beach”, starring Leonardo Di Caprio.
Last week, the Thai National Parks Department confirmed that Maya Bay will remain closed until 2021, in order to rehabilitate the iconic locale after years of environmental degradation caused by over-tourism (ABC News, 2019).
The immense popularity of Maya Bay evinces the strong brand resonance the place has with tourists from around the world. But how does this resonance arise?
Places and Narratives
While places are by nature tangibly fixed products, they are “best understood in terms of narratives” (Warnaby & Medway, 2013: p. 358). The brand resonance of Maya Bay derives from the narrative surrounding the place. That is, put simply, Maya Bay is an untouched tropical paradise, isolated from the taint of industrialisation, overpopulation and modernity. Needless to say, this is a plot-point in the film “The Beach”.
The Vimeo clip “Maya Bay Sleep Aboard” is simply a rendition of this narrative from a small group of tourists that were fortunate enough to have the Bay to themselves. Using drone footage and time-lapse photography, the group effortlessly captures the isolation, beauty and tranquility of Maya Bay.
Narrative to Myth
This narrative behind Maya Bay may now be better described as a myth or legend. Since the release of “The Beach” in 2000, Maya Bay has been trampled and pillaged by hoards of inconsiderate tourists. The Thai government recognised the centrality of the myth of Maya Bay to the appeal of the place. That is why it forewent immense tourist revenues and closed the bay for two years in order to restore it to its former glory.
Myth to Cautionary Tale?
Narratives are inherently dynamic and malleable (Warnaby & Medway, 2013: p. 358). Accordingly, if the stunning ecology of Maya Baya is not fastidiously preserved, then the myth of the place will transform into a cautionary tale. And I suspect that a cautionary tale will not contribute to the brand equity of Maya Bay!
Reference List:
ABC News. (2019). Want to visit the picturesque bay from The Beach? You’re out of luck until 2021. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-10/thai-cove-from-leonardo-dicaprios-the-beach-closed-until-2021/11102464 [Accessed 12 May 2019].
Cripps, K. (2019). Thailand shuts ‘The Beach’ spot indefinitely. [online] CNN Travel. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/maya-bay-closure-thailand/index.html [Accessed 12 May 2019].
Keller, K. L. (2012). Strategic Brand Management. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Warnaby, G. and Medway, D. (2013). What about the ‘place’ in place marketing? Marketing Theory, 13(3), pp.345-363.
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