Once Asia’s party capital, will Bangkok’s nightlife scene recover even if Thailand’s tourism industry picks up?

[webfact]

Bangkok’s Soi Cowboy area after bars were allowed to open with tight restrictions on alcohol sales. Industry players fear many of the independent bars and clubs that give the city its character will close. Photo: AFP

 

● Thailand’s nightlife economy was worth about US$5 billion, but Covid-19 has shuttered many bars and clubs after 20 months of lost business and no government help

 

● Curbs are only likely to be lifted in December, and many operators fear Asia’s party city may already have lost its reputation for variety and reinvention

 

Vijitra Duangdee

 

When DJ and producer Marmosets released his pounding techno track Krungthep Ratree (Bangkok nightlife) in June 2020, he had no idea how relevant his lament to the fading glory of Asia’s party city would be, and of the decimation ahead for bars and clubs as the coronavirus pandemic cut through Thailand.

 

Nightlife has only been allowed to operate legally for a few weeks since then, as authorities tried to beat back a months-long Covid-19 outbreak by banning alcohol sales inside licensed premises, effectively closing clubs and bars.

 

From the racy go-gos of Soi Cowboy to the mixology bars of upmarket Thong Lor, the rooftop hotel happy hours to the street-side pop ups that serve booze until dawn, Bangkok’s cacophonous nightlife has been muted.

 

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Full story: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3153918/once-asias-party-capital-will-bangkoks-nightlife-scene-recover

 

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[RichardColeman]

6 minutes ago, webfact said:

Curbs are only likely to be lifted in December, and many operators fear Asia’s party city may already have lost its reputation for variety and reinvention

If they are lifted , they better hope they can survive on the domestic populace for another8-9 months

[nausea]

 

From the original article:

 

“You have to have good friends in the police to stay open,” said the manager of a downtown pop-up bar which has operated in near open view throughout the latest lockdown, despite a booze ban. “When we have to close there is another bar upstairs to go to. We know how to work carefully.”

 

No surprises there.

 

As for the raids, it's nice to know the potential cost just in case one's tempted:

 

"There are regular local media reports of raids on illegal bars across Bangkok crammed with both Thais and foreigners who are tested for Covid-19 – at their own cost – and fined around US$120 on the spot."

 

C..4000bt + covid test it seems, hardly bank breaking stuff for your average expat.

 

 

[Hayduke]

 

Will Bangkok's nightlife recover?  No, it’s effectively dead…the government has knocked it out and and the police are busy sucking the life out of its unconscious body. It's gone....and it won't be back.

 

 

 

[ezzra]

Bangkok and Pattaya and to lesser extend other places in Thailand, have been known detonations for all sorts of vice and pleasure for as long as i remember and most of it was easy money and as such it will bounce back it's too good to let it die and even the government, like it or not, knows all too well that it is a huge revenue earner...

[fangless]

3 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

As long as there is booze and women in the word-folks will want a meeting place for it

But probably not in Thailand given the never ending moving hoops you have to jump through!

[nobodysfriend]

will Bangkok’s nightlife scene recover even if Thailand’s tourism industry picks up?

 

It depends entirely upon the regulations imposed by the government .

Thailand once was fun , easy women , parties , not really dangerous ...

In the early years , I slept all day , spend all night out .

Now , the government needs to realize that a lot of tourists came to Thailand not only for the beaches , but for ' entertainment ' as well ...

It was a place to spend a good time .

If they kill the entertainment industry , they remove an important attraction that Thailand was famous for .

If they want tourist money , they need to make the country more attractive , not less .

But the old men in power here do not seem to realize this .

They want Thailand to become a clean and boring country for HI-SO visitors . 55 . There are better places around for this clientele .

But , up to them ... but they better not complain if not a lot want to come anymore ...

 

( Sorry for the big , bold print , no way to adjust ...)

[Chaichara]

4 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

As long as there is booze and women in the word-folks will want a meeting place for it

It might take a while for  Bangkok and Pattaya to become active again in their traditional hospitality industry. The world's biggest brothels for sex tourism - whether it's up-market Asoke and Patpong, down-market Banglamphu, or the seedier sois in the near suburbs of Lat Phrao, Talingchan, or the near neigbour province of Chonburi, sex for sale in Siam is still going to suffer a drought of dollars for some time to come.

 

First, the world's airlines need to take their planes (stil 80%bstood down) out of mothballs in a new 'normal' where homeworking and Zoom have seriously and probably permanently dented the revenue earning business travel which brought more bucks for the operators than the backpackers did. Flying will never be as cheap as it once was. Tough too for the grandma in Manchester who wants to visit her grandchildren in Melbourne.

 

Time for Thailand to wake up to create and engage in real work rather than the easy-sleazy selling of booze and what's inside a katoey's knickers and whoring in Phuket for the lazy extended family in Isan.

 

For those who need it, there is plenty of booze and flesh for sale and gawping in De Wallen, the Reeperbahn, Pigalle, and Soho without the fuss of visas, airports and long flights.

[spidermike007]

Between this confused and long lost, fake puritan, creepy administration, and the police oppression, it is likely nightlife will recover only to a very modest degree. You can only shoot an animal so many times before it keels over and does.

 

Millions of jobs are on the line with tourism, and few tourists will be interested in a Thailand without nightlife. 

 

Just one more area where the so called leaders are lost in space. Prayuth never had the well being of the Thai people, nor us expats at heart. He is the destroyer in chief, ensuring unhappiness for all but his richest cronies. 

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Industry players fear many of the independent bars and clubs that give the city its character will close

Well that's one way of saying it.

[henry213]

Then and now

Keep up the good work Thailand.GOV

[Thaifly88]

1 hour ago, fangless said:

But probably not in Thailand given the never ending moving hoops you have to jump through!

there is a reason Thailand is favoured in South East Asia as the main destination - no other place makes the cut.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

As long as there is booze and women in the word-folks will want a meeting place for it

Prayut has banned one and say's the other doesn't exist.

 

[Millcx]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

If they are lifted , they better hope they can survive on the domestic populace for another8-9 months

Because there won’t be many tourist coming to see temples and empty markets .. You can take that to the bank and not depend on the fake rich Indians and Chinese 55555

[Headgame]

Bangla rd. in Patong shows signs of life.
Bars are open. Ladies hanging around looking for customers.
Bands playing in bars.

Not a lot of people but certainly not dead.

I guess one of the benefits of the Phuket Sandbox.

 

Very doubtful that TH nightlife is going away forever, as some claim.

Demand = Supply

[Darksidedude]

of course they will be back to normal to much money/brown envelopes involved to not be open

[sambum]

5 hours ago, nausea said:

 

From the original article:

 

“You have to have good friends in the police to stay open,” said the manager of a downtown pop-up bar which has operated in near open view throughout the latest lockdown, despite a booze ban. “When we have to close there is another bar upstairs to go to. We know how to work carefully.”

 

No surprises there.

 

As for the raids, it's nice to know the potential cost just in case one's tempted:

 

"There are regular local media reports of raids on illegal bars across Bangkok crammed with both Thais and foreigners who are tested for Covid-19 – at their own cost – and fined around US$120 on the spot."

 

C..4000bt + covid test it seems, hardly bank breaking stuff for your average expat. 

 

 

4000B Still rather expensive for a drink though! 

[Hanuman2547]

The farang oriented nightlife will return but it won't be as big as it once was.

The Thai nightlife will continue on and be even bigger.  

[FarangryBirds]

48 minutes ago, Headgame said:

Bangla rd. in Patong shows signs of life.
Bars are open. Ladies hanging around looking for customers.
Bands playing in bars.

Not a lot of people but certainly not dead.

I guess one of the benefits of the Phuket Sandbox.

 

Very doubtful that TH nightlife is going away forever, as some claim.

Demand = Supply

I saw some new Bangla Road videos YouTube, it looks like they still have to close at 10pm prompt. I'm not sure if this will be lifted slightly at all as we head in to November. 10pm closing times won't have SkyScanner crashing under demand for flights to Thailand.

[Cake Monster]

4 hours ago, Hayduke said:

 

Will Bangkok's nightlife recover?  No, it’s effectively dead…the government has knocked it out and and the police are busy sucking the life out of its unconscious body. It's gone....and it won't be back.

 

 

 

And with the new Tourism Policy stated just about 10 Days ago, that Thailand was seeking to move away from its raunchy image of the past, there will be zero assistance from the Government 

[shackleton]

We all know when Thailand opens up there will always be tourists coming to Pattaya for the sex and bars  this will never go away

On the broader market there will be less international tourists 

For the sight seeing  tours ect

Until the Chinese arrive end of 2022

[Farmerslife]

I think it will bounce back in time but I fear the ownership will change. A lot of small owners will have been squeezed out and larger more affluent owners will snap up the bargains to be had in the currently decimated industry thus concentrating wealth in ever decreasing hands. 

Not good news. 

[Snig27]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

He is the destroyer in chief, ensuring unhappiness for all but his richest cronies. 

He was put there to ensure that the money from the peasants and all economic activity continued to flow upward. The fact that the people were speaking and electing governments of their choosing terrified that elite and still does.

 

That said, part of who he serves are the big booze duopoly and they need access to the market so booze barns for Thais will reopen. He’s killed dead the high end market though, the fine dining scene and bars that were being lauded worldwide but they have no relationship with that duopoly so I doubt he cares. 

[Snig27]

18 minutes ago, Cake Monster said:

And with the new Tourism Policy stated just about 10 Days ago, that Thailand was seeking to move away from its raunchy image of the past, there will be zero assistance from the Government 

The irony in that, which no doubt eludes these fools, is that the part of the hospitality industry that these supposedly quality tourists look for, has been killed dead. Owners have given up, many left the country or retired from the business. Chefs have gone, and a generation of skills lost. 

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

As long as there is booze and women in the word-folks will want a meeting place for it

The problem for Thailand is that that scene exists in most other countries, not Thailand.

[Bangkok Barry]

4 hours ago, ezzra said:

even the government, like it or not, knows all too well that it is a huge revenue earner.

Those leading the government don't need the money so they don't care. It is only an earner for businesses. Or it used to be.

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, Chaichara said:

Flying will never be as cheap as it once was.

I think this is largely a myth. I need to travel to Dubai in February and looked up the fares. Using Emirates, Peasant class is the same as two years ago and the Business price is less than half it was then. I've also over the last year checked fares to destinations in Europe, just out of curiosity, and none were any higher than before. Airlines need to attract passengers and they are not going to do that by pricing them out of the market.

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, Thaifly88 said:

there is a reason Thailand is favoured in South East Asia as the main destination - no other place makes the cut.

there is used to be a reason Thailand is was favoured in South East Asia as the main destination - no other place makes used to make the cut.

[spidermike007]

Prior to Covid some surveys showed that 86% of all arrivals were lower or lower middle income tourists from China, Malaysia and India. After Covid? Far fewer of them and maybe 12 to 20  wealthy tourists a year. Maybe. 

 

The goons are successfully doing everything in their power to strip Thailand of much of it's character. Khao Son Road. Samui, Phuket, Pattaya. Without the nightlife that will likely NOT revive after nearly 2 years of consistent and deliberate sabotage, Thailand is finished as a tourist destination. Millions of jobs lost. 

 

One can only hope one day Prayuth and his henchmen are held responsible at the Hague, or exiled from Thailand. The crimes being committed against the Thai people are unforgivable. 

 

Swampy recently at 10am.

 

 

[Freddy42OZ]

5 hours ago, Hayduke said:

 

Will Bangkok's nightlife recover?  No, it’s effectively dead…the government has knocked it out and and the police are busy sucking the life out of its unconscious body. It's gone....and it won't be back.

 

 

 

Of course it's not dead. 
Maybe the crappy go-go bars that cater to farangs are dead, although I suspect they'll rise from the ashes as well.

 

But the real money is in the bars for rich young Thais and those places that don't want low class Western pensioners through their doors.