Phuket Walking Street Proposal 4am Closing Time

Ready to party all the way to 4am in the morning? Phuket, walking street, might be ready to open venues for expats and locals to stay up all night. As tourists are picking up in Thailand during the festive period. People are finding out where to go out with friends or families during Christmas and New Years Eve of 2022. One of the regions of Phuket walking street that is proposed to be open is in the Bangla area.

After earlier plans were rejected, the Tourism and Sports Ministry is only suggesting one pilot location — Bangla Walking Street in Phuket — to allow nighttime entertainment venues to stay up until 4am.

The ministry reduced the request from several locations to one region in the hopes that the cabinet will take this matter into consideration during its meeting on Tuesday.

Last month, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee rejected a proposal to expand the hours that alcohol is sold, citing research that predicted a 27% increase in the number of accidents on the road.

Why Choose Bangla, Phuket Walking Street

Bangla Walking Street in Phuket, which is renowned for its nightlife, should be prepared to easily embrace the new opening hours given that most visitors come from outside of Thailand.

The ministry simply needs six months to demonstrate that increasing hours could contribute to a 25% increase in revenue. More sites will be proposed for consideration if the Bangla test is successful during the course of the six-month timeframe.

Economic research at Bangla supports the idea, finding that visitors typically spend the most money in the late hours, which may increase spending by at least 25%.

Safety Concerns

The Public Health Ministry rejected proposals at other regions because of safety concerns. Especially during the high season holidays, road safety becomes a big issue. Driving while drinking at night is a cause for concern with new closing times at entertainment venues. 

Other tourist stimulus plans, such as a new phase of the “We Travel Together” subsidy campaign and marketing stimulus plans, are also expected to be discussed at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. ..

While the stimulus programs are anticipated to contribute to the aim of 2.4 trillion baht in tourism income, the next phase of We Travel Together is anticipated to bring in 33 billion baht for the local economy.