Aspiring bartenders can dream again, because now that Thailand’s nightlife is ‘officially’ back on, venues are slowly employing again. The country’s pubs, bars, karaoke bars, massage parlors and other venues are picking up the pieces after having to lay off employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. This news comes after Thailand stopped requiring such venues to call themselves ‘restaurants’ on June 1, instead allowing them to legally reopen.
Venues still face a massive hurdle with Thailand’s midnight closing time, though. On top of the stingy close time, venues have also been asked not to hold promotional events in order to avoid overcrowding that could lead to new Covid-19 infection clusters. Venues that can hire former employees are still in the ‘preparation period’ according to National News Bureau of Thailand.
When Thailand’s venues first reopened, several business owners said the re-opening was pointless as long as the midnight close time was enforced. One owner of a venue on Khao San Road told the Bangkok Post that the government’s rigid clinging to Covid restrictions, including requiring overseas arrivals to take out expensive insurance coverage, is driving foreign tourists to neighbouring countries. The owner, Thanupong Paensodsaicharoenkij, said…
“It has been more than 2 years since the outbreak and we here in Khao San are up to our ears in debt. Yet when the outbreak is easing the government gets nervous.”
SOURCE: National News Bureau of Thailand