NEWS
THAILAND PLANS PUBS HOURS INTO 4AM TO LURE MORE TOURISTS
By Siulan Law Mathews DipWSET
23-8-2022
Credit: Hannay Naibaho/Unsplash
After having lifted a 5-decade long ban on afternoon drinking, Thailand's government is considering to extend operating hours for bars and pubs from 2am to 4am, in order to lure more tourists to help the country's economic recovery.
Thailand's Tourism Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, said he wants extensions to be approved for Bangkok, Pattaya, Krabi, Phuket, Hua Hin, Samui and Chiang Mai starting from October.
He said 1.7 million tourists visited Thailand last month and arrivals for August so far are more than 1.2 million. He hoped the extension of pub operating hours will encourage more foreign arrivals.
Most business operators in Thailand's tourist areas have backed the policy as they believed it will attract more tourists.
However, the plan will need approvals from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and from residents living near the venues.
The Tourism Minister had already presented the idea to CCSA in a meeting held last Friday, a detailed plan will be tabled in October after consultation with the Interior Ministry, as the ministry is responsible for overseeing the operations of night spots across the country.
Thailand’s Centre for Alcohol Studies (CAS) issued a warning to the plan, citing statistics from countries around the world which showed that extending bar hours will lead to an increase in drinking and road accidents.
Deputy Manager of CAS, Surasak Chaiyasong, said: “We disagree with the extension of bar hours to 4am.”
“From the academic data and experiences of several countries, it is clear that restricting the days and hours in which alcohol can be sold is an effective measure for preventing and reducing problems related to drinking,” he added.
However, the Tourism Minister already made clear that he will not be swayed by opposition from academics, he said the government wants to see a quick economic recovery and one way of achieving this is to encourage more tourists to visit the country, not just for sight-seeing, but for entertainment as well.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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