Thailand lifts evening alcohol sales ban after 53 years of veto

Thailand has lifted the ban on the evening sale of alcohol, which had prevented the purchase of these beverages in liquor stores and supermarkets since 1972, where it will now be permitted for an initial trial period of 180 days, according to authorities who reported this Wednesday.

Through a Royal Gazette, the Government decreed the end of the measure, which consisted of a ban between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM and which was established at the time to prevent civil servants from drinking alcohol during working hours. Last February, the Executive tasked the Health, Interior, and Tourism portfolios with reviewing this regulation, which also includes sales bans during five special days of the Buddhist calendar each year.

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On that occasion, the then-Minister of Interior and current Prime Minister of Thailand, Anutin Charnvirakul, said that they would review this policy with the aim of stimulating the economy and creating jobs. Authorities confirmed in May their intention to ease restrictions, allowing sales since then during Buddhist holidays in airports, hotels, and tourist attraction areas, among other places. The government already considered the ban outdated during Buddhist days, the majority religion in the country and whose fifth precept consists of abstaining from consuming toxic products, such as liquors. Thailand, the most visited country in Southeast Asia, is also taking this measure to boost tourism, with the aim of surpassing its pre-pandemic record of 2019, when it received 39.8 million foreigners, after which it has tried to recover the market, with a special focus on Chinese tourism, its main source of visitors.