Thailand Tourism Minister brings back idea of keeping bars legally open to 4:00 AM to help tourism
By Adam Judd
February 14, 2020
Thai tourism and sports minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn told a crisis meeting in Bangkok yesterday that he has proposed to the government once again that bars and entertainment venues stay open to 4 am, especially in tourist areas like Pattaya and Phuket.
He asked for support from the private industry for his ideas as he delivered a speech at the Amari Watergate hotel yesterday.
He said the 4 am opening would only apply to certain zones and surveys would need to be carried out.
The Pattaya News notes that this idea was brought up heavily last summer, including getting as far as being officially tested in Pattaya until a major drug raid which netted dozens of positive drug users at a late night Pattaya nightclub that primarily had Thai customers helped derail the process. That particular incident also assisted in costing the former Pattaya Police Chief his position.
We conducted surveys on the support for legal bar opening until 4:00 AM ourselves and the vast majority, nearly 70 percent, supported the idea. The opponents, however, brought up many good objections including additional accidents, noise pollution and criminal related issues.
It is worth noting that legal opening and closing times are not strictly enforced in parts of Pattaya to begin with, however, a uniform legal closing time would ensure that everyone is playing on the same even field. Currently, some areas may get told to close on time but others may not, depending on a variety of factors.
Most business owners surveyed support the legal closing times extension.
https://thepattayanews.com/2020/02/14/t ... p-tourism/
Bars open until 4:00am? Maybe
- Gaybutton
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Re: Bars open until 4:00am? Maybe
I just love it every time a mere "SUGGESTION" from some bozo gets so much media attention.
A persons "suggestion" at a meeting, which hasn't even been elevated to becoming a formal proposal yet, is far from being news worthy. Similar to the publishing of Big Joke mutterings, which turned everybody upside down and created nothing but chaos.
Having got that off my chest, I would be all in favor of the extended bar hours. More fun for the customers. More revenue for the bar owners. Less tea money for the BIB. A win-win-lose proposition. Just perfect!
A persons "suggestion" at a meeting, which hasn't even been elevated to becoming a formal proposal yet, is far from being news worthy. Similar to the publishing of Big Joke mutterings, which turned everybody upside down and created nothing but chaos.
Having got that off my chest, I would be all in favor of the extended bar hours. More fun for the customers. More revenue for the bar owners. Less tea money for the BIB. A win-win-lose proposition. Just perfect!
Re: Bars open until 4:00am? Maybe
I would be in favour of a curfew on bars, rather like that which once operated in Laos.
If some bars are open until 4:00 am, inevitably some drunken **** will come back to the hotel between 2 and 4:00 am and attempt to wake everyone up. Ideally, hotel security would persuade such people to shut up, with the aid if a baseball bat if necessary.
However, since we don't have such controls in place to maintain a civilised silence, I suggest the optimum solution would be to close all bars and clubs by midnight or 1:00 am. If 4 to 5 hours drinking is not enough, start earlier.
I note there are usually some slobs drinking by mid-day, which is ample proof that it's possible to start early.
If some bars are open until 4:00 am, inevitably some drunken **** will come back to the hotel between 2 and 4:00 am and attempt to wake everyone up. Ideally, hotel security would persuade such people to shut up, with the aid if a baseball bat if necessary.
However, since we don't have such controls in place to maintain a civilised silence, I suggest the optimum solution would be to close all bars and clubs by midnight or 1:00 am. If 4 to 5 hours drinking is not enough, start earlier.
I note there are usually some slobs drinking by mid-day, which is ample proof that it's possible to start early.
- Gaybutton
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Re: Bars open until 4:00am? Maybe
Mid-day? I've seen some of them guzzling beer as early as 9:00am - and they had started long before I happened to pass by.
Part of that is on my "I Don't Get It" list. If drinking is so vital that some people start as soon as they wake up from the previous day's drunk, why bother going to Thailand to do it?