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

[bill hill]

never will recover until the promised no quarantine on arrival is acted upon, instead the government added purely on screw the tourist for more money.

why should a plane load of tourists all proven to be free of covid just before arrival, and have only travelled together, then be subjected to another test and quarantine, and 6 days later another pcr test after mixing with thai population and possible infection from them.

[GeorgeCross]

pretty cheap to open a bar, less than a hotel, coffee shop or restaurant. i think the only business cheaper to open is a massage shop.

 

as such they'll pop back up like mushrooms once demand returns.

 

now will demand return? thats the real question.

[ArcticFox]

The Thai elites drove a stake through the heart of the Entertainment industry.  It's suppose to linger and die, not resurrect. 
The Thai government seems to plan to recoup that $5 billion USD by luring a million rich tech nomads and enticing them to purchase 30+ million THB properties  (Note:  These same elites don't seem to grasp the term - "Nomad.").  The rich tech nomads will also be enticed by a selection of thousands of Temple Tours.  The Jack Dorsey's of the world will surely flock to Thailand in the hundreds of thousands to embrace Neo-Thai-Morality and meditation practices (that most Thais don't practice themselves). 

In the meanwhile - "drinking commoner scum causes Covid."
Embrace a long-term extermination of night-time based Entertainment as the New Normal you've been promised.   

[spidermike007]

4 hours ago, Lucky Bones said:

Comments agreed. But why were you at Swampy @ 10:00am? Just curious Spider????

I am thrilled to be getting out of here for a long while. Enough of the Zombie attitudes. 

[spidermike007]

7 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.

That was then. This is now. I barely recognize Thailand anymore. Likely alot of incoming tourists will feel the same way, and never return. Word will spread on social media quickly. The place is just not fun like it used to be. Will things come back? With the degree of "sabotage of anything resembling fun" taking place I have my doubts. 

 

Call it "massive Golden Goose slaughter". 

 

Woe is Thailand. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by spidermike007

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, chilly07 said:

Don't think it ever stopped for Bangkok HiSos just so long as the profit share/fees continue to flow

Yep. Same applies to the leadership. Pure as snow in public. Behind closed doors one is left to the imagination. Mind boggling hypocrisy. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by spidermike007

[bangon04]

5 hours ago, Chad3000 said:

I think they're dead and we're dying pre.covid.

Internet hookups far more efficient, probably less hassle and money.

My call: done.

Want gogos and cheap beer it's Angeles City.

Good luck waiting for the Philippines gogos to open... On a scale of most incompetent government response to the virus panic, the Philippines are well up there.

Internet exploitation is however one of the strongest in the Philippines. They are far ahead of Thais in that area. They are huge exporters of women.

[Chad3000]

17 minutes ago, bangon04 said:

Good luck waiting for the Philippines gogos to open... On a scale of most incompetent government response to the virus panic, the Philippines are well up there.

Internet exploitation is however one of the strongest in the Philippines. They are far ahead of Thais in that area. They are huge exporters of women.

I'm certainly not waiting I hate the place. Really don't care about exploited Filipinas. I don't think I've ever met one with an IQ over 85 so that's bound to happen in such an ugly, exploitive country.

[newnative]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Thailand is not able to attract affluent travelers anymore. For a dozen good reasons. Very very few with real money. And Western tourism has been dropping for a decade.

 

Ask anyone in the tourism industry. How was your business the past 5 years prior to Covid. Was income up or down? How were the quality of the tourists? 

     So, no source.  Also incorrect, western tourism was not 'dropping'.  From 2015 to 2019, of the countries tracked, only Australia (-4.63%) and Singapore (-1.67%) dropped slightly.  For the rest, the numbers were mostly up slightly, with some up slightly more than others.   UK, up 4.97%, for example.  France, up 8.63%.  Germany, up 12.74%.  Certainly there were not large increases in western tourists.  But, they weren't 'dropping', either. 

    The number of tourist businesses, however, expanded tremendously this past decade.  So, the only slightly bigger pie of western tourists was being cut into thinner and thinner slices, resulting in some businesses likely not doing as well as in past years.  Usually supply and demand will eventually sort things out; some businesses will unfortunately close, and, hopefully, you end up with the right number of 'X' businesses for the number of tourists interested in 'X'.

[unblocktheplanet]

The generals are doing everything they can to kill everything that made Thailand a special destination. Long may they rot!

[henry213]

10 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

That's Aleppo in Syria

Oh really and? it was just a joke using a Gif ok?

[DoctorB]

In the 30 years that I have been a Thailand regular the night entertainment scene has always allegedly been under threat. Economic development was going to finish it, then Purachai and his Thai Rak Thai colleagues were going to do it etc etc. Trink preached the gospel pre-internet then Stickman took it up in his weekly sermons. Now seems to be the TVF regulars' mantra. Perhaps Covid will do it, perhaps not. Sadly it is true that the story of the Goose &  The Golden Egg does not seem to be a part of Thai culture.

[kiwikeith]

22 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.

 

 

But good lunch money for the boys 

[kiwikeith]

3 hours ago, DoctorB said:

In the 30 years that I have been a Thailand regular the night entertainment scene has always allegedly been under threat. Economic development was going to finish it, then Purachai and his Thai Rak Thai colleagues were going to do it etc etc. Trink preached the gospel pre-internet then Stickman took it up in his weekly sermons. Now seems to be the TVF regulars' mantra. Perhaps Covid will do it, perhaps not. Sadly it is true that the story of the Goose &  The Golden Egg does not seem to be a part of Thai culture.

Today’s version is the ATM lays Tung

[Sticky Rice Balls]

20 hours ago, fangless said:

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

where there is a will--theres a way

[Sticky Rice Balls]

17 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

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

If only they could see the forest, not the trees......the world stops at thai borders.

[rumeaug]

On 10/29/2021 at 10:56 AM, Will B Good said:

Sad, at least from my point of view.

 

Things have slowly contracted and been ground down to almost nothing.

 

I used to love the street bars, opening up on derelict land, under flyovers, disused multi-stories.......all gone now as the whole place is slowly being sterilized.....courtesy of the government.

Sterilized, yes. It is what happened to the seedy "walk on the wild side"Manhattan in the 90's or Paris red-light district "Pigalle".  Gone are these days. As Dylan said "Times they are a'changing". 

[Andrew65]

On 10/29/2021 at 7:12 AM, bullseye66 said:

Thailand has always been about the party, go go, sex scene. If offers very little else. If you want beautiful locations....there are better options. You want fantastic beaches with clear water.....better options. You want 24/7 gambling, all legal ......better options. You want river cruising.....better options. Jungle trekking.....better options. Thailand was revered for one thing, and one thing only. And now they're killing it off.

I think many Thais would like it if there country could shed it's image of being a destination for 

'sex tourism'.

In many ways it's true what you say. For example, I always said that as a country to live in, in SE Asia, for me, Malaysia comes a close second to Thailand.

Costings similar.
Climate tropical.
Doesn't have Thai cuisine, but has maybe some of the best Indian food outside India.
Beaches similar to Thailand.
Some of their infrastructure is as good or better.

In the 35 years that I was visiting Thailand, including almost 20 years living there, I fully indulged in the 'sex tourism' thing. In more recent years, my interest in that was greatly diminished

[thonglorjimmy]

On 10/29/2021 at 9:29 PM, henry213 said:

Oh really and? it was just a joke using a Gif ok?

Oh really?

 

Highly amusing.

[Pierre Hanot]

On 10/29/2021 at 4:59 AM, 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.

 

 

 

Have to wonder if any problem to transfer the 800.000 Thb required  ,  to a foreign bank nearby ?? 

[Pierre Hanot]

On 10/29/2021 at 7:28 AM, nobodysfriend said:

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 ...)

Not to  forget..who ever leaves takes their bank account with them...

[henry213]

18 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Oh really?

 

Highly amusing.

Oh don't cry baby, Whats up i upset you taking the <deleted> out of Thailand? or the people? Get over it

[thonglorjimmy]

8 hours ago, henry213 said:

Oh don't cry baby, Whats up i upset you taking the <deleted> out of Thailand? or the people? Get over it

Do you understand English?

 

Do you understand what “highly amusing” means?

[khunpa]

The times when you could party all night and really have fun in Thailand are long gone. The decline already started before covid, especially with the limiting of opening hours.

 

Now it has become a place with arrests for drinking and bars/restaurants closing at 9pm to ensure people are home sleeping at 10pm.

 

Even sex-videos privately shared online will now result in arrests and public humiliation. Gone are the days, when more crazy stuff like ping-pong shows were advertised openly without consequences.
 

I guess the plan of making Thailand a “family with kids destination” or a place for “rich boring people” is unfolding. 

 

Tip: For investors: Opening “Build-A-Bear” shops might be the smartest move going forward.

 

Happy days! Enjoy you holiday and don’t forget that lights are out at 10pm ????
 

 

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by khunpa

[henry213]

13 hours ago, thonglorjimmy said:

Do you understand English?

 

Do you understand what “highly amusing” means?

Me English pepar, me know everything, You stupid Farang ????

[Andrew65]

On 10/31/2021 at 1:05 PM, Pierre Hanot said:

Not to  forget..who ever leaves takes their bank account with them...

I've kept mine, on the slim chance that one day I might win the lottery and return to live in Thailand.

Why not close the account? Cos it would be a pain in the <deleted> going through the hassle of opening another!????

There's still about 38,000 Baht there, I'll use about 36k of that for spending money next time I'm there.