Chiang Mai operators urge govt to review new 4am bar hours
Operators of restaurants and entertainment venues in Chiang Mai called on the government to review the policy of letting bars stay open until 4am.
Tanit Choomsang, president of the Chiang Mai Restaurant and Bistro Association, said on Saturday that the policy would only benefit a handful of registered entertainment venues in Chiang Mai while many unregistered others would have legal problems if they extended their closing time.
As of Friday (December 15), night entertainment venues in selected areas are allowed to stay open until 4am as per a new regulation issued by the Interior Ministry.
The extended operating hours apply to registered establishments in Bangkok, Phuket, Chonburi, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani’s Samui island, and bars in hotels nationwide. The measure is aimed at boosting the tourism industry and Thailand’s economy during the upcoming festive season.
Tanit, however, disagrees with the application of longer hours in the northern city, saying that Chiang Mai is different than elsewhere.
He said the city’s tourism industry focuses mainly on its natural and cultural charm as well as the local cuisine.
“Chiang Mai has a total of 27 registered entertainment places, but only 10 of them are still operating. The government is unaware of this fact, so letting bars [in the city] stay open until 4am is not likely to stimulate local tourism,” Tanit said.
He said there are “almost 1,000” entertainment venues across Chiang Mai, but they are operating as restaurants and bistros, as they cannot be registered as entertainment venues under the Entertainment Place Act of 2006. He did not elaborate.
“What we want is that all entertainment venues in Chiang Mai be allowed to register so they can operate legally,” he said.
Tanit added that the government should review the policy for Chiang Mai, as only 10 or 0.01% of all entertainment venues in the city will benefit from the extended closing time.
“The government should have surveyed all operators before issuing the policy. Allowing bars to stay open until 4am is like passing us a hot potato. Most Chiang Mai operators do not want it that much.
“The government should have listened to the residents and the operators before ordering provincial authorities to implement this policy,” he said.
