PM and tourism minister urged to extend pub opening hours and stop "ineffective" 2-5pm booze ban

[BEngBKK]

Will this not kill any moms/pops shops ?

[madmitch]

22 minutes ago, roger101 said:

555 You must be joking.

No joke. This happens. Not regularly, and it's at random. The officers even open bottles and sniff them to make sure you're selling the right stuff, though I'm not quite sure how they know! Of course word gets round when they're on the way so people are prepared! GF was once fined when they found a bottle of wine underneath our small guesthouse bar counter which belonged to a Swedish guest.

[it is what it is]

3 hours ago, findlay13 said:

This morning there was a call for less hours to save electricity????Amazing Thailand

 

or maybe not, get people to do their drinking during daylight hours and close bars when it's dark. brilliant. ????

 

 

[Orinoco]

5 hours ago, Mickeymaus said:

Yes, more party, booze and sex tourists! And free earplugs for all others! 

Looks like a typo, I fixed it for you. 

 

Yes, more party, booze and sex tourists! And free butt plugs for all others!

[MrJ2U]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

In addition she wants the 2 pm to 5 pm alcohol sales ban scrapped.

Crazy law.  

 

 

Edited November 10, 2022 by MrJ2U

[Boomer6969]

However Opening hours for bars, malls, and many other venues could be shrunk to save electricity

Edited November 10, 2022 by Boomer6969

[tomazbodner]

Like if booze is the only thing that is driving tourism in Thailand. Pathetic.

[phetphet]

Seems like one hand doesn't know what the other is doing. Took a screenshot AseanNow:

[StevieAus]

9 hours ago, Snig27 said:

The government will need to go to their bosses at Boonrawd and Thai Bev as they did when the the people of Thailand asked that the brewing laws be changed. It was the duopoly that made the decision to say no to the people of Thailand and passed on the instruction to Prayut, their servant. Much as they had done when they blocked online sales and had him introduce advertising bans that they could bypass with their water brands. 

I cannot imagine that the two organizations to which you refer,would have any concern about relaxing the restrictions on the sale of alcohol between the hours of 2pm-5pm as they would only gain.

After saying that however despite the law it is freely available if you know where to ask, including most hotels in tourists areas.

I suspect it is more related to the influence from the conservative side of Thai society and the Buddhist influence, they are all terrified that they will suffer in the afterlife if they don’t comply.

4 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

They forget to mention: Normal affordable prices for wine.

 

[LALes]

Every week we get this push for 4 am closing.  The alcohol lobby cares not one wit about the people.  Just keep pushing for more and more profits and who cares about the people who live in the neighborhood.

[Sparktrader]

7 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

The 2pm to 5pm no alcohol is stupid, about time they cancelled it

Banning it from 1am to noon makes more sense.

[overherebc]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

For a country that derive its main foreign earning from tourism i say let those entertainments places stay open 24 hours or let the owners of the establishments make their own hours depending on his staff availability and fair employment condition...

Location is important as well.

[eastlight]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

For a country that derive its main foreign earning from tourism i say let those entertainments places stay open 24 hours or let the owners of the establishments make their own hours depending on his staff availability and fair employment condition...

This is how it was in 'the old days'.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

This law was long forgotten until Thaksin resurrected it. What a nonsense it is and it is time to do away with it completely. That would include the midnight to 11am part not only the 2 to 5pm ban.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

6 hours ago, LALes said:

Every week we get this push for 4 am closing.  The alcohol lobby cares not one wit about the people.  Just keep pushing for more and more profits and who cares about the people who live in the neighborhood.

I always find this an odd argument. Why would anyone move next door to a noisy "entertainment area" if they knew it was there, and then complain it is there? Noise abatement in Thailand is hopeless and complaints to the police or local authorities are ignored. The property agents might have advertised it is as "a downtown but quiet area" but they also say it is two minutes from the BTS when it is 20 minutes walk. Look before you buy.

 

 

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

5 hours ago, Sparktrader said:

Banning it from 1am to noon makes more sense.

It might suit you but it wouldn't suit most tourists.

[bbbbooboo]

Scapping the 2-5 pm alcohol sales ban would be a sensible move, but unlikely to happen because of this? TIT 

[hotchilli]

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Khemika wants 4 am opening in entertainment zones such as Patong (in Phuket), Khao Lak, Chaweng (Samui), Khao San Road, Soi Cowboy and Patpong

People will drink until 4am in the places are open, but they won't come out until 11pm..

Extending opening hours like this does not make more profit.

It does give more flexibility to the public.

Afternoon ban for 3 hours should go, ridiculous concept of preventing office workers getting smashed is backward thinking.

Bans on alcohol sale on certain holidays should also go.. 

 

[chalawaan]

You can guarantee these clowns, including big white Bill, will make every wrong decision in the book, luring tourists back. 

 

Add-on taxes (exempting Thais but not resident foriegners) keep stupid archaic drug and alcohol laws, keep forgoing the vast revenue to be gained from legalising and sensibly taxing gambling, vaping, and prostitution, sensibly taxing imports, including duty-free goods and alcohol. 

 

Missing a perfect opportunity to capitalise on the fall of Hong Kong.

 

They're beyond clueless. 

[JayClay]

15 hours ago, stephenterry said:

If scrapped, winners are bars, restaurants, supermarkets and family shops, losers would be police and maybe hotels.

Family shops would be a big loser if scrapped; they currently do very well out of selling alcohol when supermarkets and 7/11's can't.

[Mickeymaus]

3 hours ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

I always find this an odd argument. Why would anyone move next door to a noisy "entertainment area" if they knew it was there, and then complain it is there? Noise abatement in Thailand is hopeless and complaints to the police or local authorities are ignored. The property agents might have advertised it is as "a downtown but quiet area" but they also say it is two minutes from the BTS when it is 20 minutes walk. Look before you buy.

 

My goodness. Sorry, but a little bit naive. You cannot imagine that the noise moves to you? For instance the area where I bought my condo was completely quiet when I bought it and this for very many years. Now it is surrounded by very many often extremely noisy bars.

 

I would not buy anything here anymore. I am thinking about selling my unusable condo - if I find an idiot that buys this noisy condo now. I never will buy a condo again in Thailand. It is a bigger condo and I have lost a lot of money...

 

And please no discussion like double glazed windows or whatever. This is naive too. Believe me I have done much better things than this for a lot of money. It is not easy especially to block deep frequencies. And sometimes even the floor vibrates. 

[ravip]

18 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

The 2pm to 5pm no alcohol is stupid, about time they cancelled it

Have got caught to it many a time!

[ravip]

56 minutes ago, JayClay said:

Family shops would be a big loser if scrapped; they currently do very well out of selling alcohol when supermarkets and 7/11's can't.

Yes! They had been my saviour many a time!

[Sydebolle]

The silliest thing I ever heard on this issue was the following. 

The (present) law stipulates "no alcohol sales" before 11am, between 2pm and 5pm and as of midnight again to the next morning at 11am. 
This also affected restaurant operators and other wholesale customers. Initially they allowed sales of purchases of 10 litres or more per purchase; later on that got stopped. A booze sale license (available at the city hall) allowed shopping for wholesale customers until that got stopped as well.

The reason given for these booze ban hours was to "protect school children from alcoholism". Well, kids are at school from mornings to noon and then again after lunch until 4pm/5pm. So, during those hours the kids are at school, it is prohibited to sell booze - to protect the next generation of Somchais ......

Your call ........ Yet, as with everything else here, there is no issue. Except the big VAT-operating sales outlets (i.e. supermarkets) you can get anything you want 24/7 and, more than once, I've seen police in uniform getting their daily supplies during booze ban hours from a little non-franchised "convenience store"; since then I understand the word "convenience" ???? 

[JimGant]

On 11/10/2022 at 10:50 AM, webfact said:

She also wanted tougher action on establishments that break the law.

Like, bars that sell drinks between 2 and 5? 'Cause the law is stupid? Fortunately, most bar/restaurant proprietors know it's counterproductive, as there are many tourists/residents who prefer the afternoon to peruse, or to have a meal with a glass of wine. So, they ignore the law, to their benefit, and to the benefit of the Thai economy.

 

And you want tougher action on these folks? Christ, read the history on the US's Prohibition, and how that adversely affected the economy.

 

No. Get rid of counter productive laws instead of enforcing them. Duh.

[JimGant]

6 hours ago, Mickeymaus said:

Now it is surrounded by very many often extremely noisy bars.

Advertise for sale in the Geriatric Daily. Hard-of-hearing old folks might be the perfect target market.

[blackshadow]

On 11/10/2022 at 11:38 AM, ThailandRyan said:

No, they want to be able to sell and buy in the afternoon from 2 to 5 pm which they can not.

correct.....it is a very outdated rule/law living in the 21st century.....Ohhh I forgot T I T

[perconrad]

On 11/10/2022 at 2:47 PM, spidermike007 said:

Nobody was ever saved from alcoholism by the 2pm to 5pm law. It is beyond stupid. Anyone can plan a binge a few hours in advance. Time to allow the adults to start make some decisions. 

No planning is needed you can buy at small shops from early morning to late night.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

On 11/11/2022 at 6:56 AM, Mickeymaus said:

My goodness. Sorry, but a little bit naive. You cannot imagine that the noise moves to you? For instance the area where I bought my condo was completely quiet when I bought it and this for very many years. Now it is surrounded by very many often extremely noisy bars.

 

I would not buy anything here anymore. I am thinking about selling my unusable condo - if I find an idiot that buys this noisy condo now. I never will buy a condo again in Thailand. It is a bigger condo and I have lost a lot of money...

 

And please no discussion like double glazed windows or whatever. This is naive too. Believe me I have done much better things than this for a lot of money. It is not easy especially to block deep frequencies. And sometimes even the floor vibrates. 

I have to say I have been here many years myself and one of the reasons I have never "bought" anywhere here is what has happened to you. But you must realise it hasn't just happened to you it is every other person in the building, that would be 90% if they stuck to the rules on Condos. Nobody else complains of course. The building owners must not have paid off the land owners where the bars have been built. Have a polite word in the juristic office if you speak enough Thai. I would bet you are not alone. 

[kuma]

On 11/10/2022 at 1:05 PM, scubascuba3 said:

The 2pm to 5pm no alcohol is stupid, about time they cancelled it

It sure has been effective in stopping me in the 19 years I have been here. Just drink casually and I cannot count the times I thought "I feel like a beer" and went into 7/ Big C etc to buy and got turned down as it seems I always get that feeling between 14:00-17:00 lol. Some times I would find a small mini and get what I wanted, but most often just gave up and never bothered haha