Tourism minister orders study of Pattaya as model for 4am closing time
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakan said he has ordered the Tourism Authority of Thailand to use Pattaya as a model to study the benefits of delaying closing hours of pubs and bars until 4am.
Phiphat said he has assigned TAT governor Yutthasak Supasorn to finish the study in time for the submission of the proposal to the Cabinet for deliberation on August 27.
Phiphat said the TAT would send officials to meet with operators of entertainment places to find out how much more foreign tourists would spend if the closing hours were delayed from 2 am to 4 am. The study will examine the ratio of increased spending by each foreign tourist per day, he added.
If the study reveals solid benefits from the delayed closing hours, he would ask the Cabinet to approve the extension of pub closing hours in other destinations popular with foreign tourists, including Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi, Phang Nga, Hat Yai, Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, and Bangkok.
Phiphat said he was not discouraged by the Cabinet’s rejection of his proposal to exempt Indian and Chinese tourists from current visa requirements for one year.
He noted the Cabinet did not reject the proposal out of hand but asked him to study it further, adding that he would wait for a while before possible future submission to the Cabinet.