The Pattaya international pyrotechnic festival is proving the busiest weekend since pre-covid days. The local tourist office guesstimated that a million visitors were in town, many of them Bangkok domestic tourists arriving in cars by the thousands. The roads were choked with stagnant and slow-moving traffic, a situation complicated by ongoing roadworks and the partial closure of Beach Road to wheeled traffic in favour of pedestrians and temporary shopping booths.
According to the eastern chapter of the hoteliers’ association, four and five star hotels were reported as full whilst the beaches were packed, or would have been except for an afternoon shower or two. Restaurants, bars and clubs reported their best nights since Christmas 2019, even though there was disappointment that the proposed drinking extension from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. has been turned down by the government.
On the international front, the first Russian tour groups began arriving at U-tapao airport, whilst requests to increase flight frequencies from the Middle East and south east Asia are clogging the desks of the aviation control authority. Khun Ana, manageress of Pattaya’s One Finger massage parlour, said, “We are so busy, I have had to ask the girls not to take their day off and work extra shifts.” Jomtien immigration bureau reported a similar story with over 1,000 queue tickets given out on most days, mostly for visa extensions and address reporting.
Business owners in popular night districts such as Walking Street, Soi 6 and the Jomtien Complex were almost all mega-satisfied with their cash takings. The main attractions still closed are the cabaret shows on Thepprasit Road which are wholly dependent on the Chinese market which has yet to return because of Beijing’s covid-related discouragement of foreign travel for the masses. Walking Street operator Chit Soikham said, “Actually, Pattaya doesn’t need the Chinese charter groups as there’s so much pent-up demand all over the globe.”
For Pattaya, the main blip on the horizon is the current ambiguity surrounding the sale of cannabis and the attempts in parliament to reclassify the dug as an illegal narcotic. So far, there has been no practical changes on the ground and ganja cafes remain open for business. Khun Chart, representing Go Green Pattaya, said, “The authorities are delaying any decision until a new parliamentary bill to regulate weed is passed, but that may take time.” Most business owners appear to agree with liberal health minister Anutin Charnvirakul who confidently said this weekend, “There can be no going back now.”
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