News of the water shortage comes just months after Thai authorities ordered the indefinite closure of Phi Phi’s iconic Maya Bay, the setting for 2000 Leonardo DiCaprio flick The Beach.

It was initially closed for four months starting in June to allow it to recover from the hundreds of boats and thousands of tourists visiting every day.

Now though researchers at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University say a shortage of drinking water on the islands is worsening, Thailand’s English news website The Nation reports.

The team reportedly found water sources unable to cope with the number of visitors while tap water has been contaminated from waste arising from tourism such as plastics and sun cream.

They also say over-consumption of groundwater could let seawater into the system, rendering it undrinkable, adding the islands further suffered from having only two water facilities.

Authorities in the region have called for coordinated efforts involving Thailand’s central government and state agencies to tackle the issue.

Remedies include capping visitors by introducing a “carrying capacity” of between 12,000 and 27,000 people a day and encouraging businesses to install their own water storage facilities to capture rainwater and introduce treatment systems to reuse any waste water.