Thailand considers ending 52-year alcohol ban to attract tourists

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin may end a 52-year ban on alcohol sales after calls from the tourism industry, which is struggling with rising costs and weak consumer spending.

“Prime Minister Srettha is pleased to consider proposals from restaurant operators to amend laws prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages from 2pm to 5pm,” according to a statement on the Royal Thai Government website.

Such a move would provide relief to many thirsty tourists in Thailand, where temperatures reach nearly 38C, and help bars, hotels and restaurants. The Restaurant Business Club sent a letter to Srettha on Tuesday calling for emergency measures – including ending the afternoon alcohol ban – to ease rising costs and a moribund economy.

“We have to look at the bigger picture,” Srettha said in the statement. “Costs are increasing, but the government is also encouraging tourism, which will help increase restaurant owners’ income.”

The prime minister is under pressure to revive Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. More than half of Thais are unhappy with Srettha’s performance, according to a recent opinion poll. The country is targeting a total of 36.7 million travellers this year to help boost gross domestic product growth to 3%. It welcomed 17.5 million foreign tourists in the first half of the year.

But even as visitors return, the Thai Hotels Association earlier this week issued a similar appeal for help, asking for a tax deduction or grant for renovations as it grapples with an uneven post-pandemic recovery.

The three-hour ban on alcohol sales has been in place since 1972, when Thailand became one of the world’s most popular leisure destinations.

The pressure from the tourism industry to take urgent action to attract visitors also comes as Thailand, which two years ago became the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis use, prepares to reclassify marijuana as a narcotic, tightening rules on its planting, sale, exports and imports.