Pattaya business owners continue to ask why the city remains “dry” with no booze sales, meeting scheduled with officials for later this week

[webfact]

 

By Goong Nang(GN)

 

Pattaya – Pattaya was still fairly quiet on the first few nights of the ‘reopening’ for foreign vaccinated tourists from low-risk countries that started from November 1st this month.

 

Meanwhile, Pattaya tourism and business operators continue to ask the Thai government to at the very least allow drinking alcohol in restaurants in Pattaya with rules as a step towards opening the cities famous entertainment and nightlife industry. 

 

According to local business owners, Pattaya Walking Street, LK Metro, and other popular bar and nightlife areas remain quiet, unaffected by the opening to tourism, primarily due to a Covid-19 related provincial mandate that bans alcohol sales at restaurants and keeps bars and nightlife shuttered.

 

In addition, local hotel, tourism, retail, and restaurant associations are complaining that even if the ban doesn’t directly affect them, indirectly it is deterring visitors and tourists to Pattaya and costing everyone business and profits. Hotel association officials stated to TPN media earlier this week that they have seen some cancellations for Pattaya specifically once tourists and visitors learned that the city remains “dry” with alcohol sales banned and nightlife shuttered, with many choosing to go to Phuket instead. However, overall bookings on weekends, sparked by upcoming music festivals and fireworks festivals, remained solid, mostly from domestic tourists.

 

The owner of Sea Space Seafood Mr. Annop Panya told the associated local press, “I am wondering why only tourism cities as Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga are allowed to sell alcohol in restaurants currently but we are still forbidden from doing so. Even Bangkok now allows limited selling of alcohol, although the rules are stricter than Phuket or Krabi.”

 

“Pattaya is one of the most famous tourism cities in Thailand and is known around the world for its nightlife and entertainment but we are not even allowed to sell alcohol in restaurants,” Annop added.

 

Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2021/11/02/pattaya-business-owners-continue-to-ask-why-the-city-remains-dry-with-no-booze-sales-meeting-scheduled-with-officials-for-later-this-week/

 

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[RichardColeman]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

According to local business owners, Pattaya Walking Street, LK Metro, and other popular bar and nightlife areas remain quiet, unaffected by the opening to tourism, primarily due to a Covid-19 related provincial mandate that bans alcohol sales at restaurants and keeps bars and nightlife shuttered.

Well, that and the arrivals have been stuck in enforced 1 day un-quarantine quarantine. Give the half dozen arrivals time to get there and get out to walk the streets looking for a soft drink

[smedly]

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

Well, that and the arrivals have been stuck in enforced 1 day un-quarantine quarantine. Give the half dozen arrivals time to get there and get out to walk the streets looking for a soft drink

are you having a laugh - walk the streets looking for something that is open is more like it, go 200m in any direction from Treetown and you enter a deserted shuttered void of darkness and closure, if 1000 foreign tourists arrived next week where exactly are they going to go, treetown is rammed every night at max capacity and you can throw out any rules that are supposed to be in place - it is a complete cluster 

[ezzra]

The berks who runs Pattaya probably didn't get the memo that Thailand is opening now for business as usual, well, almost as usual, and those guys still under the impression that drinking will lead to more infection, maybe it's time to toss those guys out and replace with people who know what's good for the city and business.. 

[jacko45k]

This was the course of action I was expecting.... soon we will get the magnanimous concession.... and wonder why Pattaya was excluded initially. 

[ikke1959]

the whole alcohol laws/bans are just ridiculous.....they are obsessed with banning alcohol even in movies  is a bottle of beverage blurred... Education will have more effect than these 19th century laws

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile, Pattaya tourism and business operators continue to ask the Thai government to at the very least allow drinking alcohol in restaurants in Pattaya with rules as a step towards opening the cities famous entertainment and nightlife industry. 

How does allowing alcohol to be consumed in restaurants up to 9pm help the entertainment & nightlife industry.?

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

are you having a laugh - walk the streets looking for something that is open is more like it, go 200m in any direction from Treetown and you enter a deserted shuttered void of darkness and closure, if 1000 foreign tourists arrived next week where exactly are they going to go, treetown is rammed every night at max capacity and you can throw out any rules that are supposed to be in place - it is a complete cluster 

Treetown must have some high connections.

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

This was the course of action I was expecting.... soon we will get the magnanimous concession.... and wonder why Pattaya was excluded initially. 

It's a case of "bucks" locking horns to establish who is the boss.

[ChrisY1]

Maybe the mayor or governor haven't finished their entertainment premises yet......expect a big opening soon...

[kinyara]

Pattaya - the naughty school kid they won't let out of detention.

[kinyara]

5 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

How does allowing alcohol to be consumed in restaurants up to 9pm help the entertainment & nightlife industry.?

It doesn't but " As a step towards ", the timeline starts with the restaurants and likely moves closer to them every 15 days after. Their window of "high season" opportunity is slipping with every delayed announcement.

[wombat]

As well they should.

No bars no booze no entertainment.

Why would you bother coming to Pattaya.?

[alant]

I have no answer, surely if alcohol is a main defence against Covid spread in the form of hand gel and Covid enters and resides in the mouth and nasal areas a regular rinse with sangsom or 100 pipers would reduce the possibility of spread...

[Sydebolle]

1) some brown manila envelopes were not thick enough

2) somebody makes good blackmail money, without receipts, from "fining" culprits 
3) the governor of the holy province of Cholburi has bigger fish to fry

Your call! 

[Lemsta69]

7 minutes ago, alant said:

I have no answer, surely if alcohol is a main defence against Covid spread in the form of hand gel and Covid enters and resides in the mouth and nasal areas a regular rinse with sangsom or 100 pipers would reduce the possibility of spread...

needs to be a very high alcohol content to kill the virus so dunno that those two you mentioned would cut it. maybe some of the real nasty Lao Khao might do the trick.

[smedly]

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Treetown must have some high connections.

yes indeed, I estimate over 200 people in there "all just eating" and of course following all the rules to the letter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

not

[HappyExpat57]

3 November, enough time has passed from the "Grand Reopening." I rode my push bike along Pattaya Beach Road from Pattaya Klang to Walking Street, 10:00. Not one tourist to be seen. Lots of empty lounge chairs, vendors flying kites, but no tourists. Several crews making obnoxious noise wood chipping palm tree branches and the music festival framework being set up, but no tourists.

 

10:00 might be early for hung over vacationing p!ssheads like me, but family friendly tourists want to hit the beach by 8:00.

 

Sorry PM, sorry TAT, sorry Chonburi governor - you all read the tea leaves wrong. Open up the bars, let the night life Pattaya is so famous for return, or tumble weeds are gonna make up the heaviest road traffic.

[Walker88]

1 hour ago, Lemsta69 said:

needs to be a very high alcohol content to kill the virus so dunno that those two you mentioned would cut it. maybe some of the real nasty Lao Khao might do the trick.

Or Absinthe makes the threat no longer

[big dendrobenaes]

2 hours ago, wombat said:

As well they should.

No bars no booze no entertainment.

Why would you bother coming to Pattaya.?

to see the floods when it rains

 

[Bangkok Barry]

Who could resist such an exciting night out, with the non-curfew curfew that follows the non-quarantine quarantine applied to restaurants after 9pm. Certainly flying thousands of miles for, surely.

[Kevin Taylor]

Its a fair question. In a town like Pattaya that relies almost completely on booze and nightlife for business what sort of Mayor or Governor would continue to want it banned. Certainly not one that cares about reelection. Very strange.

[natway09]

Just ensuring CP group makes a healthy profit this year

[Caldera]

To say something positive, I enjoy the lack of traffic in Pattaya. Maybe the TAT could advertise the fact that you can currently cross Beach Road without getting run over. ????

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, wombat said:

As well they should.

No bars no booze no entertainment.

Why would you bother coming to Pattaya.?

Again let me repeat.... many thousands of Thais come each weekend. For the expanse of beach, the restaurants and theme parks. Or simply to get out of that big sweaty traffic jam called Bangkok.....

And this weekend, a music festival......

[Harveyboy]

4 hours ago, smedly said:

yes indeed, I estimate over 200 people in there "all just eating" and of course following all the rules to the letter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

not

all drinking water eh ..

[PoorSucker]

9 hours ago, smedly said:

treetown is rammed every night at max capacity and you can throw out any rules that are supposed to be in place

The seven at treetown must be the most profitable seven in Thailand

[fulhamster]

8 hours ago, Kevin Taylor said:

Its a fair question. In a town like Pattaya that relies almost completely on booze and nightlife for business what sort of Mayor or Governor would continue to want it banned. Certainly not one that cares about reelection. Very strange.

Getting re-elected is probably not a worry, the outcome has already been planned 

[Damrongsak]

11 hours ago, Caldera said:

To say something positive, I enjoy the lack of traffic in Pattaya. Maybe the TAT could advertise the fact that you can currently cross Beach Road without getting run over. ????

Meanwhile the ambulance drivers are bemoaning the lack of traffic and drunken tourists they normally scrape off the zebra crossings.  It's bad for business.

[Meat Pie 47]

13 hours ago, big dendrobenaes said:

to see the floods when it rains

 

you mean this?