Bangkok’s governor, Chadchart Sittipunt, said he doesn’t mind the plan to keep entertainment venues open later at night as long as everyone is ready to police the law to keep any bad effects on society to a minimum.
Mr. Chadchart said that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is looking for a good place to test out the longer hours. This is because the Interior Ministry is likely to accept the plan to let bars and nightclubs stay open until 4am in order to boost the tourism industry.
These places have to close at 2am right now because it’s the law. The cabinet still needs to approve the plan.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin led the charge to let bars and clubs stay open until 4 a.m. She said earlier this month that she thought it would be good for the economy.
Mr. Chadchart said that the longer hours will be good for businesses in the sector as long as there are enough steps taken to deal with problems like noise pollution, drug use, and drinking by people under the age of 18.
The governor said that the BMA and the police will decide where the new policy can be put into place. He pointed out that the city has changed and that places like Royal City Avenue (RCA) that used to be the center of nightlife aren’t as popular as they used to be.
Yesterday, Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also the Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, said that the government is still looking into the change.
He said that administrative offices at the local level across the country are looking into the plan and will share their results with the prime minister so that he can decide what to do.
“We don’t know how long the extra hours will last.” “We’ll have to look at it case by case to make sure it doesn’t affect the lives of local people while also boosting the economy as planned,” he said.
