Midnight It Is

After much debate, it looks like it is really going to go ahead. The mainstream press this week reported that the cabinet has passed the decision to implement new closing times for bars and night time entertainment venues. The new policy which is due to be enforced from March 1st states that all entertainment venues that are outside the designated entertainment zones must close at midnight. Bangkok has three designated entertainment zones where venues may continue to operate until 2:00 AM. They are Patpong and the immediate surrounding area, Rachadapisek Road and RCA / Petchaburi Road. The last two are areas predominantly frequented by Thais while Patpong is popular with farangs as well as Thais in the gay soi, Soi 4, and the Japanese, in Soi Thaniya.

There are so many issues involved, so many people affected, and so many possibilities of just what might happen. I try to unravel a few of the possibilities and offer a few thoughts.

Nightlife Entertainment Industry

I believe that "non naughty nightlife entertainment" venues that fall outside o the entertainment zones will be hit terribly, and if the laws are enforced to the letter, we will see lobbying for new designated entertainment zones and / or more entertainment venues opening up in the existing designated entertainment zones. Let's face it, many people simply do not want to go out until late and many of the city's popular venues do not get busy until around 11:00 PM or later. After going out during the day, many people like to go home and relax before getting ready for a night on the town. A late dinner which might run through until 10:30 and then they are keen to hit a pub, club or disco. Arriving at 11:00 PM, they would have just one hour to enjoy themselves. I just don't see people changing their whole lifestyle so that they can go to night time venues earlier. If they can only party for an hour, they won't even bother.

For any venues which are fortunate enough to fall into one of the designated zones, they could well do very well indeed as partygoers will continue to go there, and people who went to other venues that fall outside of the designated entertainment areas will go to the places where they can party until 2:00. But what about places in Sukhumvit, home to some of the most popular nightspots but an area which is not within a designated entertainment zone? Places like Bed Supper Club, Rivas and Q Bar all don't get going until late. If the law is enforced, these places will be in very big trouble indeed. Anyone for new office space?

Farang Residents

Of the people that I have spoken with, the vast majority of whom are employed as opposed to retired or bumming around, most are indifferent about the midnight closing and if forced to say whether they were either for or against the decision, most said that they were in favour. Let me qualify this by saying that the people I have spoken with tend to be well-paid teachers or reasonably paid expats.

The reasons cited by friends of mine are as follows. People with jobs simply can't go out that often and most lead "normal" lives which means a few quiet drinks a couple of nights a week, but not usually a lot more than that. The average age of my friends is a little older than me, probably around the 40 mark. Guys at this age got a lot of the partying out of their system already and most are in stable relationships or marriages. Late night partying does not have the allure it once did.

But there is another side to it. For many Westerners living here, they simply don't like to see other Westerners coming here and going crazy for a few days because it reflects badly on the rest of us. A few guys I know are delighted at this ruling, saying that it is a major disincentive for some of the rowdier types who come to Thailand and give all of us farangs a bad name. The percentage of Westerners living in Thailand who feel like this is not insignificant.

Yeah, of course there are some guys who do not like the idea of being told that they have to stop partying at a certain time, but the majority of people I have spoken with agree that as residents who are perhaps a little more aware of venues outside the tourist areas, there are many other alternatives.

Farang Tourists

If what people are saying in their emails to me of the last few days is anything to go by, there is going to be a reduction in farang tourist arrivals. Many readers are saying that they will boycott Thailand. I even read a website that someone has just created trying to get others to boycott Thailand too!

I hate to say this, but for the Thai government this would be a dream come true. I think the Thais realise that the type of tourist attracted to the country is changing, and the type of tourist that the regulation change discourages is the type of person they don't want. So many times the Thai government has stated that they want "quality tourists" and in their definition of the word, people who go to bars late at night do not fall into that group, irrespective of how much money they spend. I wonder how aware they are of tourist spending habits and the number of people who come for the naughty nightlife though? People who go out late at night spend a lot of money, and not just at night, but during the day too. Discouraging such people could result in them discouraging some of the biggest spenders. Take those who partake in the naughty nightlife industry. Many easily spend $US250 a day (accommodation, food, sightseeing, souvenirs, entertainment and umm, err, companionship) while in country, a number not to be sneezed at.

Some tourists will be bothered, others won't. Some tourists who are annoyed at this will be able to overcome it while others may choose to spend their precious holidays elsewhere. Good luck to them, but I think they will struggle to find anywhere as good as Thailand for a holiday.

Naughty Nightlife Industry

I wonder what is the lesser of all evils, as far as customers of the naughty bars are concerned? Is it the early closing times? The "no showing"? The increased prices of, well, everything. Or perhaps the overall decline in what was once a fun environment to one which is now very much about business and money. Whatever they dislike the most, this will be the last straw for some.

For the bar owners who have had a couple of very turbulent years, their worst nightmare has come true. For anyone with an investment in a bar outside of the designated entertainment zones, it looks as though their investment just took a massive broadside. For anyone with a bar located inside one of the entertainment areas, your investment suddenly looks a bit brighter. Shorter hours of business means less sales resulting in a very likely reduction in profits. Let's hope that that ugly "only in Thailand do prices go up when profits are down" phenomenon doesn't rear its ugly head again. If it does, that will be it, the bars may as well close up.

For the staff of the naughty bars, this is as much a nightmare as it is for the owners. Salaries will likely be cut and they will likely suffer a drop in lady drinks too. If the number of punters drops, they will get less "end of the evening pay outs". A drop in salary doesn't do anyone any good at all and for those who don't make much now, they could find themselves in real financial bother. Not everyone in the naughty nightlife industry gets rich overnight. Some of the staff barely get by.

One Nana Plaza bar owner sent out an email to a number of people urging them to send email to The Nation newspaper showing just how concerned they are. Interestingly, the particular bar manager mentioned that he was unsure whether they would even be allowed to open the gogo bars from 6:00 PM until midnight, speculating that they might only have a 3 hour window from 9:00 PM until midnight. If that was the case, they are screwed, no question.

But all is not lost. There are a great number of things that the bars can do to attract customers and perhaps it is time for some of them to actually do something a little bit different. Most of the naughty nightlife bars are run on exactly the same model and sophisticated management and marketing don't really enter the equation. My guess is that now we will finally see something a little bit different as bars fight for the customers. I hope I'm right.

Thai Employees

A great number of Thai people, many of whom live a lifestyle precariously close to poverty, are going to be adversely affected. Wander up and down Sukhumvit Road at night and you will see many entrepreneurial locals selling all sorts from food and drink to souvenirs to bargirlwear. A lot of these people eek out a living, profiting from the late night demand of party goers for snacks or perhaps a streetside snack. Demand is driven from, the customers or employees of bars of nightlife entertainment venues. Carts are set up late at night and the vendors do most of their business into the early hours of the morning. If these people are forced to close, as looks the case, just what will they do? They cannot operate in the same spot during the day because other vendors use that spot at that time. Many, many people will lose their livelihood.

As far as the naughty nightlife industry goes, if it does implode, Thailand could be on the brink of a crime explosion. So many of these women of the night who have become used to a lifestyle afforded by a relatively high income will not only be out of work, they will not be able to find anything that pays anywhere not what they have become used to. What will they do next? If they are pushed out of the safe, relatively concealed bars where they currently ply their trade, expect to see the streets of central Bangkok, and in particular Sukhumvit Road, cement itself as the world's biggest open air brothel as they are all forced out onto the streets. This has to be the last thing that Thailand wants! Imagine the scene now, one the of central boulevards of its capital with big name 5 star hotels right there, over run with prostitutes propositioning tourists who were walking around at night, enjoying the pleasant tropical weather. Disaster! What's worse is that this is happening to some extent already due to previous late night bars that ran until 6:00 AM being forced to close at 2:00 AM.

A Few Predictions

My guess is that tourism to Thailand will, statistically, be largely unaffected and if anything, the number of arrivals will go up. Thailand just has so much to offer that I can't see this affecting things as much as some predict. As far as people boycotting Thailand over this is concerned, I just cannot see that happening either. For most people, the alternatives do not stack up very well. Yep, a few people will wander off to the Philippines, Malaysia or Cambodia but most will come back to Thailand. Holidaymakers who go elsewhere will be replaced by new visitors. One should never underestimate that visitors to Thailand tend to really enjoy their time here and come back year after year. Significant numbers refusing to visit Thailand over this? No way!

And speaking of tourism, my feeling is that they will not enforce these rules in tourist areas, or will allow a special dispensation for areas that are genuine tourist driven economies, like the beaches and islands. Phuket, Pattaya, Samui, Hua Hin etc are all tourism driven economies. I believe it will be business as usual. More than anywhere, I just can't see them turning the lights off in Pattaya and I reckon that the city of sin will continue to operate until 2:00 AM, and many bars may even open for business well beyond that time, as they do now.

I do fear that a number of Thai people will lose their jobs, many of them finding alternative employment hard to come by, a dangerous situation, and a very real catalyst for an increase in crime. This has got to be a very real concern.

I also think that the present government might have underestimated the response from the Thai public over this. To a good number of the Thai population, the current government are a bunch of darlings despite the fact that there have been what I term "extreme policies" implemented with many Thai people suffering, or even perishing, such as the slaying of many accused drug dealers. This government's popularity amongst the fun loving Thai public might just take a hit, and a big one at that.

Is the writing on the wall for Thailand, so often considered a good time place with the over-riding idea of sanuk? Policies have been known to change frequently in Thailand and enforcement of the law is not always as strict as it could be. But despite all of this, it looks as though the shape of night time entertainment in Thailand is going to change drastically. The party might not be over, but the lights sure are being dimmed.

It was Walking Street in Pattaya.	A nice day in Bangkok…