The government is considering a ban the sale of alcohol for the Songkla festival. The purported reason is the number of alcohol related traffic accidents and deaths each year during the festival.
There are currently two proposals being discussed. The first is a complete ban on alcohol from April 13 to April 15. The second proposal is to allow the sale of alcohol from 6:00 p.m. until midnight on those days, and to limit the sale to certain venues, like restaurants and hotels.
The tourism industry, which is already reeling from the airport shutdown and the world economic turn down, has expressed concern that a crack down will further damage the tourism business. Safety and anti-alcohol advocates argue that the ban will save lives. The Public Health Ministry is in charge of implementing the ban, and there is a disagreement between the minister and his deputy. The deputy is in full support of a complete ban, while the minister is also concerned about tourism.
In one sense, the ban does not really affect me because I decided to stop drinking almost three months ago. One of the driving reasons was part of my desire to get into shape. I don't need the extra calories, and drinking too much made me less likely to want to exercise the next day. When I drank too much, I was also more prone to eating junk food. It was also just too easy for me to have a drink. I have a lot of time here, and it was just too easy to have a drink when I was bored.
Despite the fact that I no longer drink, I think the complete alcohol ban is a bad idea. Part of this is the fact that I general favor personal liberty over government restrictions. Those freedoms regrettably lead to some people making bad decisions, like drinking and driving. The overwhelming majority of people are able to behave at least reasonably responsibly when drinking.
The other reason is that I agree that a complete ban can only hurt tourism. This year it would reduce the income of bars and restaurants as they could not sell drinks. In the coming years, it could actually reduce tourism around that time of year. In the coming years it could actually reduce the number of tourist who visit. While many people come to Thailand for the beauty of the temples and the land, there are also a lot of people who come to party and have a good time. Songkla is a hug party, and like it or not, alcohol is an important ingredient of any party for a lot of people.
At least the alternate proposal would soften the blow on tourism. Most of the foreigners would probably be drinking in the type of establishments allowed to serve alcohol during the ban. Since most foreigners are not actually driving, allowing them to drink will have virtually no impact on highway accidents or fatalities.
There is another alternative. There could be a complete ban on the sale of alcohol, but it could just not be enforced. How much resources will be devoted to cracking down? A complete ban might actually be a revenue source from some entrepreneurial law enforcement officers who might look the other way for the right incentive. This is Thailand after all.
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