In a historic move, Thailand is lifting its alcohol sale ban during religious holidays and will now allow vendors in certain places to sell drinks.
For years, many bar owners have advocated for a change to Thailand’s alcohol laws, which some consider archaic. Despite years of criticism and protest, it didn’t look like anything was going to be changed until recently. Back in February, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra gave the order to revise the 2pm-5pm alcohol sale ban. Surprisingly, that ban remains intact, but the ban that did get lifted is alcohol sales during religious holidays, though with certain caveats.
Published today in the Royal Gazette, alcohol is now allowed to be sold during religious holidays. The law is set to take effect on May 10. That means that alcohol will be available during the upcoming Buddhist holiday this Sunday, Visakha Bucha. Other holidays include Makha Bucha, Asalha Bucha, and Buddhist Lent.
However, that doesn’t mean alcohol will be available everywhere. The announcement says only specific places will be allowed to sell alcohol, like airports, hotel bars, venues hosting national or international events, entertainment venues like bars and clubs, and places in “tourism zones”. It’s not exactly clear what kind of places are in tourism zones and whether or not restaurants are included. Sadly, it seems that this new law doesn’t mean you can just walk to your nearest 7-Eleven during a Buddhist holiday to buy a beer.
Many are lauding the law as a step in the right direction, despite it not being the total discontinuation of alcohol ban laws. It’s still up in the air whether the daily afternoon alcohol sale ban will go away. The main reason for the revision of the alcohol ban laws is to boost the economy. If this slight change puts the economy in an upward trajectory, there’s a good chance laws will be amended.
