NEWS
THAILAND TO LIFT BAN ON AFTERNOON ALCOHOL SALES AFTER 5 DECADES FROM JULY
By Susan Lewis
22-6-2022
Credit: Bundo Kim/Unsplash
Thailand government will lift its 5-decade long alcohol sales ban between 2 to 5pm from next Friday 1 July, as a move to boost post-pandemic tourism.
Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, announced that hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions may sell alcohol during these hours, but relaxation is at provincial governors’ discretion.
Phiphat stressed that lifting the ban could boost Thailand’s tourism industry, its members have questioned the 2 to 5pm alcohol ban for a long time.
He reminded the public, however, that the lifting of the ban will not apply to convenience stores “at least initially, until more research is done”.
The law to prohibit sales of alcohol from 2 to 5pm was enacted in 1972, the reason for it was not very clear but the saying that drunk civil servants will not work productively seems to the most likely reason.
Thailand’s hospitality and alcoholic beverage industries have repeatedly called for its abolition saying that the law is outdated and cannot stop people buying alcohol while restricting their businesses.
“Instead, the authorities should seriously enforce the law that prohibits selling alcoholic beverages to customers aged below 20 and revise the zoning requirement to sell alcoholic beverages, because this is no longer appropriate to the current situation,” said Thanakorn Kuptajit, a former head of the Thai Alcohol Beverage Business Association.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced last week that all of Thailand’s 77 provinces will become green zones.
It proposed that all nightlife venues in the country be allowed to open until 2am from 1 July to reflect the current situation.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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