KUALA LUMPUR – Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is considering lifting a 52-year-old ban on afternoon alcohol sales, following requests from a tourism sector grappling with increasing costs and declining consumer spending.
“PM Srettha is pleased to consider proposals from restaurant operators to change laws that ban sales of alcoholic beverages from 2pm-5pm,” according to a statement on the Royal Thai Government website.
Thailand has been baking in temperatures of almost 38°C, and a lift on the ban would be music to the ears of thirsty tourists, besides helping bars, hotels and eateries, Bloomberg reported.
The Restaurant Business Club asked Srettha yesterday for urgent measures to quell rising costs and a struggling economy, including a reversal of the ban on afternoon alcohol sales.
“We have to look at the overall picture of this,” Srettha said in the statement.
“Costs are rising, but the government is also promoting tourism, which will help boost restaurant operators’ income.”
With a recent opinion survey showing that more than half of Thais are dissatisfied with Srettha’s performance, the prime minister is faced with having to revive Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
Thailand aims to draw a total of 36.7 million tourists this year in a bid to increase gross domestic product growth to 3%. The country saw 17.5 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first half of the year.
Despite the return of travellers, the Thai Hotels Association made a similar call for assistance earlier this week, seeking a tax deduction or subsidy for renovations amid a challenging post-pandemic recovery.
Thailand has enforced the three-hour ban on alcohol sales since 1972, when the country became a top global tourism spot.
The tourism industry’s urging of measures to attract visitors also comes as Thailand prepares to reclassify marijuana as a narcotic, having been the first Asian country to decriminalise its use two years ago. The country seeks to tighten rules on planting, sales, and exports and imports of cannabis. – July 3, 2024