‘Party all night,’ say Phuket residents polled about later hours for bars and clubs

More than 75 percent of respondents to an online poll have called for later trading for bars and nightclubs along Bangla Road in Patong. More than half of the respondents even called for late-trading entertainment zones in other areas of Phuket.

The overwhelming call from the public to allow nightlife late trading follows a crackdown earlier this month that saw scores of revellers in Phuket’s party town kicked out onto the tourist-flooded streets one night, and then bars and nightclubs deserted the next.

The raids enforced the current law that bars must close at midnight and nightclubs must close at 1am. These closing times are for venues inside Patong’s “entertainment zone,” which comprises Bangla Road and 50 meters on either side of it. Venues elsewhere, depending on their entertainment license, are supposed to close earlier.

However, just two days later, more than 20 Patong nightlife venue operators filed a petition addressed to PM Prayuth Chan-ocha to extend the closing times for bars and clubs in Patong, and Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan made the request official by adding the support of the Phuket Provincial Office.

Gov. Chockchai confirmed last week that he has also asked for permission to allow 4am closing on Taina Road in Karon, home to the only other official “entertainment zone” on the island.

To all this, The Phuket News asked their readers, “Should Patong night venues stay open later?”

A solid 25 percent of respondents voted “Yes, but only in the entertainment zone,” a further 51 percent voted “Yes, and entertainment zones should be set up in other popular tourist areas.”

Only 18 percent of respondents voted “No, the current closing times are good enough,” while just 6 percent voted “Don’t care, the closing times for bars and nightclubs do not affect my activities/holiday in Patong.”

Of note, of those who took part in the poll, 41 percent of respondents identified themselves as “Foreign visitors to Phuket”, while 36 percent identified themselves as “Local expatriate residents.”

Only 23 percent of respondents identified themselves as Thai nationals
Story: The Phuket News