Kathu District Chief Theeraphong Chuaychu chaired the opening of the forum, held as part of the measures required by the national government before 4am zones will be piloted in four tourist-popular areas in the country, in Bangkok, Chon Buri, Chiang Mai and Phuket.
The aim of the meeting was to hear a range of opinions from the public, including local residents, business operators, academics and officials, Mr Theeraphong said.
“The Ministry of Interior and the government have considered extending the opening hours of service places to 4am as part of its tourism integration plan to support tourism and stimulate the national economy,” Mr Theeraphong said.
“However, extending the opening hours of such service locations may have various problems and impacts. This forum is so that the operation will be done carefully and in order to obtain complete information for consideration. The Ministry of Interior has ordered four pilot provinces, namely Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chonburi and Phuket, to open a forum to listen to the opinions of citizens, civil society and stakeholders to cover all professional groups,” he added.
If the move is deemed to have public support, local authorities will need to submit requests for consideration to extend the opening hours of service establishments to 4am in specified areas, he explained.
Six areas in Kathu District are under consideration for 4am closing. Mr Theerapong said. All six areas are in Patong.
When the time came for the participants to express their opinions and raise their hands to express their approval on the issue, it appeared that 100% of the participants raised their hands to agree, noted an official report of the meeting.
“Therefore, it can be considered that the operation was completed at that time,” the report said.
“Kathu District will proceed with filing all matters according to the next process,” the report added.
Kathu District together with relevant agencies and business operators are now to draft a plan of where 4am closing zones will be and how they will be managed and forward the plan to the Ministry of Interior by this Friday (Nov 17), the report concluded.