Nightlife until 4 am as poll shows plans to move foreign tourism upmarket a ‘recipe for disaster’

[webfact]

 

by Carla Boonkong & Pranee O' Connorin

Changes to the worldwide travel industry since 2020 are more like back to the future. Industry surveys show travellers are looking for tried and trusted holiday destinations. The success achieved so far by Thailand’s recovering industry is driven by visitors from traditional markets where the country’s nightlife and entertainment sectors have been proven, over the course of the emergency, to be a key factor in the kingdom’s appeal to foreign tourists and the money they leave behind.

The country’s tourism chiefs will present a plan to the government in September to extend nightlife opening hours only in select and strictly controlled areas in foreign tourism hotspots in a plan designed to increase tourism earnings and attract more western travellers from the country’s key foreign tourist markets. It comes as tourism has emerged as the key to the ongoing economic recovery this year with a poll of Thai Examiner readers since July showing over 77% warning that plans to take the country’s tourism industry upmarket would be a mistake and a ‘recipe for disaster’ if it went ahead.

 

Figures released on Friday by Thailand’s University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) showed that the country’s Consumer Confidence Index rose for the second month in a row in July to 42.4% from 41.6%.

 

Full story: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/08/13/4am-nightlife-plan-foreign-tourism-poll-rejects-upmarket-shift/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Examiner 2022-08-13

 

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[spidermike007]

First they were closed entirely. Which cost alot of jobs and led to alot of business closures. Bars, clubs and even restaurants. Couldn't even serve beer. Five star hotels could not serve booze. 

 

Now? It would appear that desperation is setting in. Good. The goons need to start behaving themselves, living without a state of panic, and allowing the people to make a living. 

[ukrules]

In a way I want them to fail in every way it's possible to fail, maybe that will teach the electorate.

[NorthernRyland]

Beggars can't be choosers.

[RichardColeman]

It does not need RICH tourists - it needs ANY tourists currently !!!

[HappyExpat57]

These polls are never solid, trustworthy indicators. The people performing the polls cherry pick their audience and massage the numbers to give their desired results.

[OneMoreFarang]

A little consistency would be nice.

I think I read a couple of times they want high-class tourists.

Do they get more of those high-class tourists by allowing certain drugs and opening the bars until 4am?

 

IMHO lots of people in bars are drunk before 2am. After that they just get more drunk. Obviously, some people want that. And looking at some creatures at 6:30am, when I sometimes ride to the fresh market, they also succeed now to drink more and more and more. In general, I don't think that is good for Thailand.

 

 

 

[Sydebolle]

It is an endless story. Let the free market run within a given framework of instructions (noise, location etc.). If you find operators who are willing to open all night and you have customers willing to make use of the offering then it is nothing but just good for all (including the state breathing down everyone's neck as they get the taxes/VAT etc.).

Some Europeans can confirm the changes which went through late 70s when various central European governments crawled back from limiting opening hours of restaurants, bars and shops. Prior to that you would simply die on a Sunday; every supermarket closed without convenience stores at petrol stations etc ......... The changes are the today's normal, more tax revenue, some people found a possibility to create an income at less-than-godly-hours while customers were able to follow their consumption/shopping needs within their timeframe. 

[Iamfalang]

4 am isn't enough.   Let the bars remain open until 7 a.m.   Close for two hours.

 

I go there around noon for lunch and a few.

 

Back at 6 for dinner and a few.

 

Then back at 11 for a big, big night out............10 plus.  

 

That takes me until only 11:30 and I need to drink another 30.

 

By 4 a.m., my shirt is off and the girls love me love me love me sooooo much

[Ralf001]

Longer operating hours = more chance for the owners to incinerate their patrons !!

[OneMoreFarang]

Maybe I am just getting too old for this. I still remember Thailand in the late 1990th when opening times were more relaxed. Nightlife started late.

Then, when opening times were set to 2am or 1am lot of visitors complained. At the same time the whole operation just started earlier. Personally, I like that. Now I can go out at 7pm or 8pm and the dancers are already on stage. Because they will stop their official work at 2am.

If they would have to work until 3am or 4am what would happen? They would start later. Then nightlife would only really begin at maybe 9pm. I have to admit I prefer when it starts earlier and ends earlier (like now).

Full entertainment from 7pm until 4am is difficult with one shift - especially for smaller entertainment venues.

[OneMoreFarang]

11 minutes ago, Iamfalang said:

4 am isn't enough.   Let the bars remain open until 7 a.m.   Close for two hours.

 

I go there around noon for lunch and a few.

 

Back at 6 for dinner and a few.

 

Then back at 11 for a big, big night out............10 plus.  

 

That takes me until only 11:30 and I need to drink another 30.

 

By 4 a.m., my shirt is off and the girls love me love me love me sooooo much

I prefer to let the girls take off my pants in private at midnight. 

[ezzra]

22 minutes ago, Iamfalang said:

4 am isn't enough.   Let the bars remain open until 7 a.m.   Close for two hours.

 

I go there around noon for lunch and a few.

 

Back at 6 for dinner and a few.

 

Then back at 11 for a big, big night out............10 plus.  

 

That takes me until only 11:30 and I need to drink another 30.

 

By 4 a.m., my shirt is off and the girls love me love me love me sooooo much

Why leave the place at all? find a corner in the bar where you can have a knap, bring a change of underwear and you good for the next 24 hours and save on transportation back home and back to the bar...

[HappyExpat57]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

A little consistency would be nice.

I think I read a couple of times they want high-class tourists.

Do they get more of those high-class tourists by allowing certain drugs and opening the bars until 4am?

 

IMHO lots of people in bars are drunk before 2am. After that they just get more drunk. Obviously, some people want that. And looking at some creatures at 6:30am, when I sometimes ride to the fresh market, they also succeed now to drink more and more and more. In general, I don't think that is good for Thailand.

 

 

 

DAMN! Just like looking in a mirror!

[phetphet]

Didn't they try that at Khao San Road? What happened there once they moved the stalls and brought it "upmarket"?

[Orinoco]

30 minutes ago, Iamfalang said:

By 4 a.m., my shirt is off and the girls love me love me love me sooooo much

You sure about that, by 2am the hot ones are all gone.

The ones that are left have the deep voices and can't stop playing with there hair !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hello sexy man. 

[HappyExpat57]

1 minute ago, Orinoco said:

You sure about that, by 2am the hot ones are all gone.

The ones that are left have the deep voices and can't stop playing with there hair !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hello sexy man. 

By 2am I pretty much don't care, EVERYONE is beautiful.

 

Even Lola.

[jacko45k]

Call me a cynic but in the midst of all the hype about taking Thai tourism upmarket, but is this really to be found by promoting Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and Russian markets and cheap flight deals from those places on Thai Airways? Looking in Pattaya a few more functional pavements might be needed!

[Walker88]

Last evening at about 1930 I walked up Soi 4 toward Sukhumvit. A guy came waddling out of Bangcockney, walked across Soi 6 where it meets Soi 4, pulled it out and began relieving himself on the outer wall of the Novotel. A service woman from the bar ran out and tried pulling the guy away from the wall, his trickle flying every which way. He began screaming incoherently at the woman.

 

Again, this was at 1930. I can only imagine what biological function he's dropping at 4am.

 

I'm just going to go out on a limb and guess that guy isn't the 'quality tourist' TAT had hoped to get.

[Orinoco]

3 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Call me a cynic but in the midst of all the hype about taking Thai tourism upmarket, but is this really to be found by promoting Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and Russian markets and cheap flight deals from those places on Thai Airways? Looking in Pattaya a few more functional pavements might be needed!

Yes they could do a lot in that department in pattaya.

But the Chinese are not to fussed about where they spit and defecate

[Henryford]

Upmarket tourists. Are these the ones coming to buy their ganja here?

[Andrew65]

Was it around 15 years ago that they were gonna turn Koh Chang into an upmarket destination?

[smedly]

Like I have said many times - Thai clubs in Pattaya have been open until 4am and beyond since April, clubs on walking street are already open until 4am 

 

such a huge drama when it is already happening  

[Iron Tongue]

So it's just another plan to charge tourists more for the same old offerings by calling it "upmarket"?

[jacko45k]

8 minutes ago, Andrew65 said:

Was it around 15 years ago that they were gonna turn Koh Chang into an upmarket destination?

I haven't been for some years but there are certainly a lot of very up market resort places there. They suffered during covid and could be had for Pattaya prices!

[ikke1959]

They do everything to prevent alcohol abuse.. no advertisements, no alcohol selling at daytime except 11.00-14.00 and after 17.00, but in the menatime the entertainment industry must have opening hours till 4 am... Why??? If you are so against alcohol abuse close the entertainment venues at 2 am. That is more than enough.. Do they really think that tourists come to Thailand because the bars are open till 4???   

The night is not for the best, remember

[androokery]

There's something endearing about this whole chain of events. First, when the pandemic struck and all the tourist activities shut down, foreign tourism wasn't really that important to the Thai economy. Now it seems it's the only game in town, so to speak. And the ludicrous idea of charging more for the same product is rightly being ridiculed. And suddenly there's a stark, realistic tone in what the ministry of tourism is saying. Foreign tourism is driven by the nightlife and the entertainment industry. A large part of that industry is intimately connected with the sex industry, or any of its closely associated gray areas. One way to tap that income source would be to extend the opening hours. Another obvious action by a ministry would be to make sure the resources are available to keep the industry going. So they should run campaigns in the villages and smaller towns of Thailand, encouraging teenage girls to get pregnant. They could employ young Thai men, supply them with fancy cars and send them out to impregnate as many small town teenagers as possible. The government could even set up schools to make sure that the staff is reasonably trained before they travel to entertainment hotspots such as Phuket, Bangkok, Koh Samui and the EEC including Pattaya. Honesty and transparency is the way forward????

[Gottfrid]

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

In a way I want them to fail in every way it's possible to fail, maybe that will teach the electorate.

Yes, it will! It will also end up with more restrictions on your happy life in Thailand. You still want them to fail in every way possible?

[androokery]

In places like Pattaya and Bangkok, where there's more than one "entertainment zone" it makes sense to extend the opening hours during the night, when the temperature is more suited to walk around and try out different establishments. And young men, with more energy, can get more than one ST deal done per night. I'm sure it will raise the GDP.

[paul1804]

2am seems more than reasonable to me, a balance between common sense and responsible governing should prevail. Let the industry workers go home and sleep for at least some of the night when we are supposed to be sleeping!! Who really needs to drink all night, those are probably the tourist sector that we can do without.