Surat Thani orders beach parties ban

[Big Boy]

Love them, or hate them, this will be yet another nail in the coffin for Thai tourism in the short term. These parties attract visitors of all ages (I know somebody in their late 50s who went a few weeks ago), and provide employment to a lot.

Full story: Bangkok Post

[dtaai-maai]

Love them, or hate them, this will be yet another nail in the coffin for Thai tourism in the short term.

To be honest, I doubt it. In the short term, most people have already made their plans. In the longer term, how many people are going to change their plans because of this? Maybe a handful, maybe none. The Big One, the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, is not being cancelled. And, of course, "cancelled indefinitely" in Thai officialese means "until we reinstate them or start looking the other way".

[Big Boy]

I'm not so sure. We've had a few of my son's friends passing through on their way to a smaller party because the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan already carries a lot of bad press, and they were basically afraid.

Time will tell, as with most things at the moment, I suppose.

[taffinexile]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... s-ban.html

According to the tab above, from UK Daily Mail, only the Full Moon party will go ahead, all others cancelled

[Takiap]

BB, tell John's friends there is no need to be afraid of the Full Moon parties. When I first went to one I was really hoping it would be everything I had read, and to a certain extent, I was disappointed.

Nevertheless, I had a great time and have been several more over the years and have never encountered or seen any serious trouble. They seriously are nothing like the press makes them out to be, and like you say, people of all ages go to these parties.


Will this beach party ban affect tourism? Maybe not directly, but sooner or later it's going to be a matter of "the straw that broke the camel's back", particularly when it comes to the younger tourists. They might not be big spenders, but their numbers make up for that.

Two of my mates in Scotland used to visit Thailand at least once a year, and both of them used to spend a fortune when they were here. They have not been back for three years now, and apparently have no intention of visiting again. They're not concerned about political issues or any such thing either, but they say Thailand is just not the same fun place it once was when they first came here. I wonder how many others there are who feel the same way.

[migrant]

While the parties may not be what brings people, when people here in the states find out about my travels there, the parties are always one of the top questions and things they heard about