Tourism minister wants to extend pub opening hours

[timendres]

7 hours ago, That guy said:

Never understood why people want to go out drinking in the middle of the night. You can start around dinner time and be done by midnight. What is this "oh I was out until 5am and I was so drunk, I didn't even know how to get back home"?

It's stupid.....no more no less, just plain stupid

We like to drink from midnight to 5am because we know you are already in bed.

[moontang]

my business does't end until 3, and most farang flying in are on a seriously different clock, not to mention it being hot as he'll during the day here, so like mexico, it is conducive to sleeping in the day, and schmoozing at night.

[timendres]

10 hours ago, from the home of CC said:

good for you for many don't, and if they extend the hours they'll end up with more behind the wheel..

There won't be more behind the wheel, just more driving at 4am instead of 2am.

[the guest]

This isn't going to bing back tourism. Thailand has had it's day.

[bristolgeoff]

Quote

 

many years ago every big city cnx included could shut round 4 am it worked well.then they cut it down as we all know.now they realise that was a mistake and did nothing for tourist.now they want it back again

[Stargeezr]

Money making greed is the only reason any business needs the drinking hours extended fron 2AM to 4 AM. Most drinkers drink from dinner time and through the evening into the night hours.

Some people start drinking in the morning when they get up for the day. The people who drink and still drive are dangerous, not matter what the legal drinking hours are. Desperate is what this

minister is.

Geezer

[jastheace]

20 hours ago, madmitch said:

headline's not quite right. I think he wants to extend the opening hours!

its ok, most people can wait 'til 4.05 a.m. for a beer

[kiwikeith]

20 hours ago, Cadbury said:

The RTP Bar and Club Owners Association must be feeling the pinch and applying a bit of pressure.

He,s got the wrong end of the stick here.

Leaving pubs open legally longer will only mean that guzzlers will stick to the end and spend a bit more.

Then when they wobble out of the bar they can easily be mugged.

Mugging drunks might assist the income for those that live off the bar girls, that are now struggling because everybody is leaving.

 

I remember travelling through Burma and needing heaps of copies of paperwork to go through check points.

All the hassle of immigration paper work every time you moved.

Thailand has gone back to the dark ages.

I can not see why you can not have a permanent tm30 in your passport if you live In Thailand.

I have rented the same house for four years now, it should only need renewing when your rental agreement expires or you change residence.

All I had to do last time was show my rental agreement to immigratrion and I have never renewed it since.

Will be a hassle now and fixing this problem might full the bars back up, not longer guzzling times.

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

Phiphat said he believed that if closing is extended to 4 am, tourists will spend 25 per cent more on eating and drinking.

Another fine example of the wrong man in the wrong job...

[superal]

17 hours ago, car720 said:

Don't worry all.

In Australia they banned smoking in pubs and now they have just about all gone out of business.

The times they are a'changin.

Next they will be banning alcohol in bars ,  btw how can you afford to smoke ciggs in Oz ? heard they are very expensive ?  

[stubby52]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

He said Chinese tourists were apparently worried by the depreciation of the yuan so were visiting Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and South Korea instead of travelling to Thailand.

I think the overloaded infrastructure and the environment would breath a sigh of relief.

[kcpattaya]

God. Jesus.
MAKE UP YOUR MIND!!!!

[spidermike007]

12 hours ago, overherebc said:

At the moment we are in a neighbouring country for a few days.

Staying in a very nice comfortable small hotel.

This afternoon we sat at the bar and each had a beer and I bought a packet of cigs. We said we will come down for dinner later can you put everything on tonights bill? Of course they said. A few hours later we went down for dinner, had a bottle of real wine, not over priced 'fruit wine' that is cheap bulk wine with 15% fruit juice, two nice plates of food etc.

At the end we asked for two beers, to drink on the balcony outside the room, because we drank two of the beers we like from the mini-bar, and a pack of cigs for tomorrow.

Total cost for all 1340 baht.

And the minibar drinks are the same price as downstairs. ????

Just sayin'

 

Thailand thought the country was something very special, and was he center of the known universe, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, many in this region, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine service and selection at fair prices, which rich tourists demand), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better english skills. Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned.  

 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. The very first thing would be to repeal the anti fareng wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic and truly pathetic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that could be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of over 300%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here. If you are a rich tourist, spending $600 a night at the Banyan Tree in Bangkok, it is difficult to even find someone to have an intelligent conversation with, about the intricacies, the best vintages, and the qualities of the wine you want to order, here in Thailand. The expertise in F & B is really lacking. 

 

Same applies to luxury tax. If it were reasonable, Thailand would be able to attract rich tourists from around the world, who want to spend $25,000 on luxury goods, while on vacation. Will they buy a Prada handbag here for $16,000, that costs $5,000 in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, London, New York, Paris, Rome, Milan, Monaco, Prague, Moscow, Istanbul, or Dubai? Of course not. What will they do? They will choose any one of those spots, and others for vacation, and Thailand will never even be discussed. 

 

Sorry to say, but the high spending tourists are lost for good. They WILL NOT come back to Thailand, for a dozen different reasons. 

[elgenon]

Chinese are not allowed to go to Taiwan.

 

I've asked girls how many customers are in the bars at 3am. Not many.

[DrTuner]

36 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Sorry to say, but the high spending tourists are lost for good. They WILL NOT come back to Thailand, for a dozen different reasons. 

I think you're right, although I disagree it being about wine or luxury goods. My take is they can't provide the whole five star experience. Airports suck, transportation is deadly, moving around by foot nigh impossible, hotels badly maintained and food & service often <deleted> shoot and so on and so on.

 

It was ok when you expected it, booked a beach bungalow and a scooter. That type of holiday, regardless of price, Thailand could offer very well. And Scandinavians especially love it. They would spend lot on food in restaurants, nightlife, etc. It's now all gone with soulless overbuilt coast lines and islands. Vietnam seems to have some of it left, Myanmar should flourish but they must zone it right.

Edited August 21, 2019 by DrTuner

[spidermike007]

1 minute ago, DrTuner said:

I think you're right, although I disagree it being about wine or luxury goods. My take is they can't provie the whole five star experience. Airports suck, transportation is deadly, moving around by foot nigh impossible, hotels badly maintained and food & service often <deleted> shoot and so on and so on.

 

It was ok when you expected it, booked a beach bungalow and a scooter. That type of holiday, regardless of price, Thailand could offer very well. And Scandinavians especially love it. They would spend lot on food in restaurants, nightlife, etc. It's now all gone with soulless overbuilt coast lines and islands. Vietnam seems to have some of it left, Myanmar should flourish but they must zone it right.

 

Well, for sure those tourists are gone for good. But, you have to admit, when it comes to really wealthy tourists, they love to spend money while on vacation. I spoke to a friend from London, who is a very high end attorney. He represents alot of oligarchs from Russia, and top businessmen. He said he averages $75,000 for a ten day vacation, not including luxury spending on watches, hand bags, etc. Guys like him want to drink world class wine, and get world class service from a qualified sommelier. They also want to buy a new watch, or their wives want to buy a new handbag, while traveling. It is just part of the experience for them. They came to Thailand once, around 11 years ago. They never returned. Want to guess why? Those kinds of tourists are gone forever. They will never return. Not enough here to satisfy them. 

[DrTuner]

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

Well, for sure those tourists are gone for good. But, you have to admit, when it comes to really wealthy tourists, they love to spend money while on vacation. I spoke to a friend from London, who is a very high end attorney. He represents alot of oligarchs from Russia, and top businessmen. He said he averages $75,000 for a ten day vacation, not including luxury spending on watches, hand bags, etc. Guys like him want to drink world class wine, and get world class service from a qualified sommelier. They also want to buy a new watch, or their wives want to buy a new handbag, while traveling. It is just part of the experience for them. They came to Thailand once, around 11 years ago. They never returned. Want to guess why? Those kinds of tourists are gone forever. They will never return. Not enough here to satisfy them. 

Well yes, those are high rollers. But they are just one in a million, on average don't make a dent in the revenue. It's the couple and family travellers that saved a year for a holiday and the two week millionaires that also blew year's savings on a holiday that used to come in fair quantities that are now missing in action and not coming back, due to the reason I mentioned and of course high baht, better places nearby and the usual suspects. There is no way to recover since Thais would have to bulldoze entire tourist areas to return it to what it was, as well as block Chinese, Russians and Indians completely. It's dead, Jim.

[from the home of CC]

12 hours ago, timendres said:

Tourists coming here for fun are using public transportation. Partying until 4am and stumbling into a taxi to go back to their room is hardly a major problem. I have lived here for 9 years and never driven a vehicle, drunk or sober. The majority of people are perfectly capable of managing their fun without harming others. I agree that those who break the law and endanger others should be punished accordingly, of course.

 

Adding to your list, I would include an anal retentive, pedantic view of the world test.

if what you said was true there would be no need for dui laws the world over and that's hardly the case..

[Fred white]

11 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

if what you said was true there would be no need for dui laws the world over and that's hardly the case..

DUI laws are needed for those not responsible enough not to drink and drive

[timendres]

3 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

if what you said was true there would be no need for dui laws the world over and that's hardly the case..

Hence the reason I stated: "I agree that those who break the law and endanger others should be punished accordingly, of course."

[joecoolfrog]

You can open the bars 24/7 but if the Farang tourists aren't around there wont be many customers.

Would make make more sense to promote 24 hour latex shops and roti stalls.

[kevinmartyn]

How stupid can it be that a person wants to encourage people to drink alcohol. How many more idiots!

[Jumbo1968]

1 hour ago, joecoolfrog said:

You can open the bars 24/7 but if the Farang tourists aren't around there wont be many customers.

Would make make more sense to promote 24 hour latex shops and roti stalls.

There are plenty of other destinations on the planet where you can drink 24/7 and probably a lot cheaper with no TM30, 90 Day Reporting etc.

[Percy P]

On 8/20/2019 at 9:29 AM, Cadbury said:

The RTP Bar and Club Owners Association must be feeling the pinch and applying a bit of pressure.

With the foreign currency collapse and the £ at 37.55Baht beer is the first thing to go.

 

[dcnx]

Yes, lure tourists in with later bar times and then once you have tourism back where you want it, shut the bars down early again and do something else that’s stupid to chase them off.

 

This place deserves to rot. 

[ChipButty]

15 hours ago, moontang said:

Thermae used to not get rolling until after 3.  Last time I went there, I was approached by a lady, who looked like Carrie Lam.

 

 

Them were the days 

[Percy P]

3 hours ago, car720 said:

We wait for rich Thais to arrive and then hold them at gunpoint until they cough up their cigarettes.  

Is that called a smoking gun..

[kingdong]

23 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

Then go to a non-smoking bar?

 

Freedom of choice, ever heard of?

 

Should be up to the owner to decide which clientele he wants and no one else, business freedom.

think the days of "the owner deciding which clientele he wants" are long over,and thats especially true for thailand.

[BobbyL]

I have absolutely no idea how this idea will increase tourists. Their recent releases show no ideas at all.

 

I have to say in all my time of travelling to other countries, I have never once checked to see what time bars close in that particular place. Off the top of my head I know about a dozen places in Bangkok which are always open after 2am, so it's not like this rule is even properly enforced.

 

I also love how they still have a 'Tourism and Sports Minister'. They are two very different roles of expertise. 

[HeyHeyHey]

All you against must be Aussies or English and likely 60 years old that need a nanny to make your warm milk before sleep.

 

Where I come from we can get <deleted> faced 24/7 for 365 days a year, they will serve you alcohol even if you can't hold onto the bar. Nightclubs finish 7am, but afterclubs start 5am and stay open until it's busy. You can have drugs with you for own consumption and it's 100% legal.

 

Guess what? We have very little drug/alcohol related crime. And very little road accidents as there is 0 - ZERO - tolerance against driving under influence and the public transport system is so effective that nobody would even think about it.