20 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Great news about scrapping the ridiculous 2-5 but no mention of changing the equally ridiculous 11 am start and 1 am is to early to shut down in the tourist areas.

I think you'll find tourist areas are within certain zones which have extended opening hours.

3 hours ago, Purdey said:

The Thai government must think foreigners are real alkie piss artists. Oh, wait...

And some members here must think that the laws here are only intended to affect foreigners, Do  you not realise they have around 70 million of their own to legislate for  ( or against)   Its really not all just about foreigners

5 hours ago, Freddy09 said:

Lived here for 11 years. Spent time in resort areas and live in a rural area. 
Never been unable to buy a drink between 2pm and 5pm in any bar or restaurant. Never been unable to buy a beer after midnight. 
other than being able to now go and buy some beer to take home between 2pm and 5pm in Makro or 7/11 I’m really not sure how this will improve tourism. What am I missing when it comes to Pattaya, Phuket, resort areas etc……

I have the same question.   I have ot been to Phuket in a long time but remember bars/restaurants being open and being able to get a beer.  Pattaya all along beach road the bars/restaurants are open and people are freely drinking anything they want.  

 

The Game is open at 10 in the morning along with a lot of locations on Soi 4  Khaosan has the same. The only area that seems to be closed is PP and cowboy and I think that is probably more to save money than anything else as there are no retaurants anymore in either.

 

What this is going to do is increase the number of Thai's drinking and driving which isnot a good thing. 

 

My crystal ball says that after NYE Hell week on the roads and the next election the cry will be again to close bars because Thais are not capable.

 

  A better solution might be to allow hotels to sell and designated areas,  ONLY buying at 7/11 et all still banned it really does not affect the tourists no one is going to say hell I am not going to thailand because i can't buy a beer at 7/11 at 3. 

Now they just have to ban preservatives from Thai beer and it will be much healthier like Cambodia beer.  Cambodian sell it cheap, so they sell more, hence no need to put some strange chemical in it.

 

I'm not an afternoon drinker, unless it's with a lunch out with friends or a subsequent excursion to a GC. What I really find absurd, is when in Big C or Villa market shopping for dinner, I cannot buy wine to go with the meal between the hours of 2pm and 5pm. Of course, we all know "mom and pop" shops where beer and Thai whisky is always available. There's plenty of bars and clubs open until dawn too if that's your thing so late hours nothing new. Only thing a change in the law makes a difference for me, is the above mentioned shopping hours. If the government think a relaxation of the laws will bring more tourism, then they are in desperation mode trying salvage the faltering tourist economy. 

Let’s spend 600 bucks on a return ticket to Thailand to have some booze between 2 and 5 pm, said no one EVER! 
 

It’s gonna boost sales, but it’s not gonna boost tourism in any way, shape or form! 

what a misleading headline

On 11/18/2025 at 4:13 PM, snoop1130 said:

Photo courtesy of Khaosod

 

Thailand's government has decided to relax alcohol restrictions to boost tourism, sparking a mixed response from industry leaders and health officials. The changes, approved by the National Alcohol Beverage Policy Committee on November 13, will remove the ban on drinking between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and extend on-premise service by one hour past midnight. These new regulations are expected to be implemented within two weeks.

 

This decision follows pressure from business groups and opposition parties, as well as complaints from foreign visitors and local businesses. Tourism and Sports Minister Attakorn Sirilatthayakorn highlighted the negative impact of previous restrictions on tourism sentiment and noted the urgent government meeting spurred by advisories from other countries about Thailand's alcohol policies.

 

The Thai Hotels Association, represented by President Thienprasert Chaipattaranan, views the decision as timely, coinciding with Thailand's peak travel season with an influx of international tourists. He anticipates that the relaxed rules will increase spending during the holidays, although immediate effects on forecasts might not be noticeable. Despite this, Thienprasert warns that the new policy is unlikely to significantly increase long-haul arrivals, as travelers often plan months in advance.

 

However, there are ongoing concerns in the tourism industry about safety and tourist scams. Thienprasert emphasized the need for stricter law enforcement to curb issues like overcharging and taxi misconduct, to maintain tourist confidence without additional costs. Meanwhile, tourism from China and Malaysia remains low due to recent safety incidents and regional tensions.

 

Ratchaporn Poolsawadee, vice president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, supports the extended alcohol service hours, expecting it to benefit restaurants, pubs, and entertainment venues by attracting high-spending tourists. These tourists, especially from Europe and Australia, often face restrictive closing times, which the new policy aims to address. Ratchaporn also suggests that this change will enhance Thailand's competitiveness with other destinations that have no alcohol sale restrictions.

 

Despite the positive outlook, Ratchaporn acknowledges potential risks such as alcohol-related accidents. He advocates for data collection to monitor impacts and recommends complementary safety measures, including stricter drink-driving checks and improved late-night public transport, reported Khaosod.

 

Key Takeaways

• Thailand lifts afternoon and midnight alcohol restrictions, set to begin soon.
• Decision aims to boost tourism amid peak season, tackling previous visitor complaints.
• Safety concerns persist, with calls for stronger law enforcement and safety measures.

 

Related Stories

Pattaya’s High Season Hit by Outdated Bars, Booze Rules

Scrap the Booze Ban! Tourism Groups Demand PM Action

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Khaosod 2025-11-18

 

 

 

boost tourism? mmm...

i think they did it for themselves! 😉

9 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I  must admit - that living in Thailand the rule can be irritating sometimes... 

 

I still get caught out when 'popping to a Supermarket' and only then remembering that I can't buy a 6 pack of beer with all the other stuff... Its not a show-stopper, but its mildly irritating to have to go back out after 5pm to pick up a few cans of beer.

 

Alternatively - I can order a box of wine and have it delivere or go pick it up at any time.

.. And, I can't buy a 6 pack of beer from Villa Market (i.e. at Sukhumvit 33/1) between 2 and 5pm - but I can buy 12 bottles of wine & bottle of Gin and Bottle of Whisky !!

 

Only a few times have I felt like having a beer with a very late lunch only to find out at 4:45 pm and I'm told I'll have to wait another 15mins - it all gets bit silly.

 

I don't think many people are really bothered by the rule - but they do see it as it being really daft.

 

 

 

A sensible approach, what makes me laugh is the many people on this blog who seem to think it is the end of the world.

 

I only drink in an evening now but I buy three cases of 15 large bottles per case of Chang beer from Makro just in case there is a few days special Buddha days etc so I have never been caught out.

 

In the old days for example if I was here for my monthly weekend trip from Germany (Arrived Friday, left Monday),  I could be in a bar at any time of the day, I never had any problem in Phuket getting a drink. 

 

5 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

Let’s spend 600 bucks on a return ticket to Thailand to have some booze between 2 and 5 pm, said no one EVER! 
 

It’s gonna boost sales, but it’s not gonna boost tourism in any way, shape or form! 

 

I did in or around the year 2000, I was working in Germany and once a month I used to arrive in Phuket on a Friday and go back on a Monday for a period of about six months, it was good fun, I came just to have a few beers with the lads and lasses. 👍

4 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

I did in or around the year 2000, I was working in Germany and once a month I used to arrive in Phuket on a Friday and go back on a Monday for a period of about six months, it was good fun, I came just to have a few beers with the lads and lasses. 👍

 

Flippin ek... thats a lot of time spent sitting on a plane for some beer & brass !!!

7 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

I have the same question.   I have ot been to Phuket in a long time but remember bars/restaurants being open and being able to get a beer.  Pattaya all along beach road the bars/restaurants are open and people are freely drinking anything they want.  

 

The Game is open at 10 in the morning along with a lot of locations on Soi 4  Khaosan has the same. The only area that seems to be closed is PP and cowboy and I think that is probably more to save money than anything else as there are no retaurants anymore in either.

 

What this is going to do is increase the number of Thai's drinking and driving which isnot a good thing. 

 

My crystal ball says that after NYE Hell week on the roads and the next election the cry will be again to close bars because Thais are not capable.

 

  A better solution might be to allow hotels to sell and designated areas,  ONLY buying at 7/11 et all still banned it really does not affect the tourists no one is going to say hell I am not going to thailand because i can't buy a beer at 7/11 at 3. 

 

What I find funny in Thailand is you can not buy beer at a 7/11 situated in a petrol station at any time of the day, it is hilarious, what if the 7/11 is the nearest to where we live and we are only going there to take the beer home, what about passengers who want a drink, so funny. 

Just now, richard_smith237 said:

 

Flippin ek... thats a lot of time spent sitting on a plane for some beer & brass !!!

 

I was young, earning a packet (freelance software engineer, tax free) , the trips to Thailand were an adventure at the time, I made up the working hours during the rest of the month. 👍

6 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

What I find funny in Thailand is you can not buy beer at a 7/11 situated in a petrol station at any time of the day, it is hilarious, what if the 7/11 is the nearest to where we live and we are only going there to take the beer home, what about passengers who want a drink, so funny. 

 

Its the same rule in the UK - you can't buy beer at convenience stores at the petrol stations.

 

Its a silly rule - if people wanted to drink drive this doesn't exactly make it harder - but at least we can understand that there is a form of attempted logic there.

 

 

The 2-5pm rule is / was even more obscure - the 'attempted' logic is baffling.

 

Equally as silly was the rule they tried to bring out a few years ago that no alcohol could be sold within 500meters of school - then quickly realising that the density of schools in some area's would see most convenience stores impacted...   

... I think that rule actually still exists and is universally ignored !

46 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Its the same rule in the UK - you can't buy beer at convenience stores at the petrol stations.

That rule changed in 2013. 

7 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

59 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Its the same rule in the UK - you can't buy beer at convenience stores at the petrol stations.

That rule changed in 2013. 

 

Wow - it must have been at least that long since I wanted to get pished up while going for a drive then !!! 

 

 

At least the logic shone through - the same with the 11pm licensing at pubs, instead leaving for the landlords to decide how long they wanted to stay open for and applying for their own licence extensions. 

58 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Its the same rule in the UK - you can't buy beer at convenience stores at the petrol stations.

 

Its a silly rule - if people wanted to drink drive this doesn't exactly make it harder - but at least we can understand that there is a form of attempted logic there.

 

 

The 2-5pm rule is / was even more obscure - the 'attempted' logic is baffling.

 

Equally as silly was the rule they tried to bring out a few years ago that no alcohol could be sold within 500meters of school - then quickly realising that the density of schools in some area's would see most convenience stores impacted...   

... I think that rule actually still exists and is universally ignored !

 

@chickenslegs stated the rule for the UK changed in 2013. I bought lots of beer and other drinks from petrol station over the last ten years.

 

In Germany even back in 1991 petrol stations sold beer etc. 

 

I don't see many rules are stuck to in Thailand, prominent ones like 7/11 etc as booze is only a small part of their business. 

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Wow - it must have been at least that long since I wanted to get pished up while going for a drive then !!! 

 

 

At least the logic shone through - the same with the 11pm licensing at pubs, instead leaving for the landlords to decide how long they wanted to stay open for and applying for their own licence extensions. 

 

Pubs will soon become a thing of the past, they were popular in my day but even my kids etc, have hardy ever gone to a pub and are drinks much less than in our day, it has all changed.

 

Pubs are closing at the rate of a few hundred a year and many are on the cusp of shutting down as there is not profit in it anymore. 

 

26 minutes ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

@chickenslegs stated the rule for the UK changed in 2013. I bought lots of beer and other drinks from petrol station over the last ten years.

 

In Germany even back in 1991 petrol stations sold beer etc. 

 

I don't see many rules are stuck to in Thailand, prominent ones like 7/11 etc as booze is only a small part of their business. 

 

Yup - I stand corrected - that said, I never saw booze in the UK petrol stations - it seems they need an additional licenses which I suspect many do not apply for.

 

Stores in Thailand with 'digital billing' such as 7-11 have to apply the rules as every sale goes through their system.

 

I've been at a 7-11 - walked in, quickly bought beer at 1:59pm (or close too) - then gone and bought what else I wanted after 2pm....    makes it all a bit silly really, but its not the staff's fault - its (was) just a silly rule.

 

Anyone tried to buy beer at 3pm from 7-11 yet ? is this new rule in place or is just another 'one of those announcements' ?

 

 

Aseannow pundits for years: "Cancel the 2-5pm rule! Stupid rule! I don't drink but agree it's a stupid rule. Thailand stuck in the past" etc. etc.

Rule gets cancelled - same pundits: "What do they think we are - alcoholics! Stupid government! etc. etc." 

22 hours ago, ronster said:

Do they think everyone coming to Thailand is a raging alcoholic 😳

 

Not everyone.....maybe...

I think I'll wait until "early December" to see if they actually implement this change, before I raise a glass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On 11/18/2025 at 4:13 PM, snoop1130 said:

Thienprasert warns that the new policy is unlikely to significantly increase long-haul arrivals, as travelers often plan months in advance.

True, but there will definitely be an opportunity to observe, in real time, the effects on the ground, especially in the early morning hours between 12-6am. Foreign tourists who stay out that late often end up in or cause trouble when they’ve drunken too much and lose all sense of etiquette. 
The 2-5pm curfew on alcohol sales has been nothing more than an inconvenience to everyone and I don’t see any drawbacks with easing that at all. A 6 month trial is about right and hopefully the tourists behave and nobody becomes a victim of drunken indiscretions. 

16 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

What I find funny in Thailand is you can not buy beer at a 7/11 situated in a petrol station at any time of the day, it is hilarious, what if the 7/11 is the nearest to where we live and we are only going there to take the beer home, what about passengers who want a drink, so funny. 

 

It makes sense with Thais. As to drinking in the car it is illegal in any country to have open booze in a vehicle. 

If the nearest place to buy beer is a petrol station then you are in trouble LOL

17 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

I did in or around the year 2000, I was working in Germany and once a month I used to arrive in Phuket on a Friday and go back on a Monday for a period of about six months, it was good fun, I came just to have a few beers with the lads and lasses. 👍

Right, so you’re either rich or you work as a flight attendant because normal people can’t afford to fly to Thailand from Germany once a month. 

4 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

Right, so you’re either rich or you work as a flight attendant because normal people can’t afford to fly to Thailand from Germany once a month. 

 

I was a freelance software engineer working in Germany tax free at the time via a company I set up in the British Virgin Isles.

 

I was not not particularly rich but I was earning £10k a month which was a lot of money at the time, the freelancing went on for 25 years, a nice little earner, so I am comfortable financially.

 

 

19 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

I was a freelance software engineer working in Germany tax free at the time via a company I set up in the British Virgin Isles.

 

I was not not particularly rich but I was earning £10k a month which was a lot of money at the time, the freelancing went on for 25 years, a nice little earner, so I am comfortable financially.

 

 

Yeah, that explains it….

5 hours ago, pacovl46 said:

Yeah, that explains it….

 

Why do I need to explain it, are you part of the flight checking police? 

 

Or the anti-well-off brigade. 🤣

On 11/20/2025 at 1:51 PM, kingstonkid said:

 

It makes sense with Thais. As to drinking in the car it is illegal in any country to have open booze in a vehicle. 

If the nearest place to buy beer is a petrol station then you are in trouble LOL

 

Nope in the Uk it is not illegal to have an open bottle of booze in a car.

 

But it is illegal to drink and drive of course, but passenger can drink and much as they like. 

 

There is a 7/11 on the corner, but I buy my beer from Makro, normally 5 cases of 15 large bottles five litres of vodka at a time.

 

That way I am stocked up for ages.

 

On 11/21/2025 at 2:51 PM, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

Why do I need to explain it, are you part of the flight checking police? 

 

Or the anti-well-off brigade. 🤣

You didn't get it. You did explain it yourself, free-willingly and I've just stated that that explains it. Having said that, you didn't fly to Bangkok because they allowed booze sales between 2 and 5 pm. You flew there because you wanted to meet your friends, regardless of booze sale times. 

 

I've read at least 50 times already that allowing sales between 2 and 5 pm will boost tourism and I'm saying it's BS. No one will fly there just because they have 3 more hours each day to buy booze. It's ridiculous!