Coronavirus: Thailand to reopen bars, pubs, and karaoke clubs next month to woo back tourists

Thailand will allow bars, pubs and karaoke clubs to reopen in some regions from next month, ending a more than a year-long shutdown, as the tourism-reliant nation targets more travellers to bolster an economic recovery amid an easing Covid outbreak.

Popular tourist destinations including Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Chonburi are among 31 provinces classified as green and blue zones where pubs, bars and karaoke lounges can serve alcohol to patrons until midnight from June 1, Rachada Dhnadirek, a government spokeswoman, said on Twitter on Friday after a meeting of the nation’s virus task force chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Thailand’s nightlife is a major attraction for tourists, but most entertainment venues have been closed or faced a strict curfew since the pandemic began, with some bars forced to convert to restaurants to stay in business.

The government hopes the latest easing of restrictions will help revive the Southeast Asian country’s battered tourism sector, a key growth engine that accounted for about 12 per cent of the economy before the pandemic. Thailand is targeting 5 to 15 million arrivals this year.

“These businesses should take a universal prevention approach … staff must have received booster doses and take antigen tests every seven days,” Taweesin Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Covid-19 task force, told a news conference.

Starting on June 1, Thailand will also drop a requirement for unvaccinated travellers to quarantine. They will either have to take an test on arrival or show a negative Covid-19 test before departure, he said.

From January to mid-May, Thailand received 1.01 million arrivals. There were 427,000 tourists for all of last year, compared with almost 40 million in 2019, according to official data.