When the sun sets, it's time for customers to "open their wallets"
Nikkei Asia has just reported that the Thai government's extension of the night entertainment hours helped Thailand earn 54.5 billion baht ($1.6 billion) from tourism in December 2023 alone, up 44% compared to the same period last year. "The extension of the opening hours for night activities plays an important role in supporting the tourism industry during the year-end period," the newspaper quoted Sanga Ruangwattanakul, chairman of the Khaosan Business Association, an area famous for night entertainment venues in Bangkok.
Patong Night Street - Phuket's nighttime tourist magnet, Thailand
Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat also said that Phuket's coastal areas have become more vibrant and there is a bustling nightlife. Especially during the year-end season, about 50,000 tourists, mostly domestic tourists, take over 300 flights to Phuket every day.
"We expect Phuket to earn around 300 billion baht ($8.5 billion) this year, which is very close to the revenue it earned last year before the COVID-19 outbreak," Sophon told reporters. Similarly, in the coastal city of Pattaya, hotels there had an occupancy rate of around 90%, as more than 320,000 visitors came to countdown to the New Year at various venues, spending nearly 2.6 billion baht on the occasion alone. Pattaya Mayor Poramet Ngampichet said the extended opening hours had helped boost revenue at bars and entertainment venues by 50% at the end of the year.
In fact, before the Thai cabinet approved the decision to extend the opening hours of entertainment and night tourism venues, the night economy had developed very strongly in this country.
The convenience of travel, efficient and safe public transport; and traditional nightlife such as nightclubs and night food markets have made Thailand the "party capital" of Asia. However, the government of this country is constantly striving to develop new programs, diverse new products combining retail activities with culture, creativity, organizing international exhibition events...; "boldly" opening up all legal barriers to successfully create a night economy worth about 5.5 billion USD.
Before Thailand, Shanghai (China) is also a typical example of successfully activating the "money printing machine" of the night economy with the policy of "when the sun sets, customers start spending money". In mid-2019, when a series of cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Hunan, and Hebei were promoting night-time business activities, the Shanghai government also issued guidelines to promote the night-time economy by building a number of entertainment areas from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; opening 24-hour cinemas... The nationwide night-time sales of the Shanghai-based supermarket platform jddj.com immediately increased by 65%; the restaurant chain that extended its opening hours from 1 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. said it also recorded a total revenue spike of 13-14% compared to the previous month.
In Vietnam, leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City tourism industry informed that efforts to light up the night economy with a series of new night tours from city tours to river tours have contributed significantly to increasing the city's tourism industry revenue by 25% compared to the pre-pandemic period, despite the number of visitors only recovering about 65%.
Similarly, after just one night of launching right at the peak tourist season at the end of the year, VUI-Fest night market at Hoang Hon Town - Phu Quoc's first creative night market on the sea has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to have fun and shop, becoming the most sought-after keyword on the pearl island. With creativity, artistry, youthful vitality, this fun-filled night market is considered not only a memorable space but also contributes to reviving the nightlife, adding more vibrant colors to Phu Quoc after a period of gloomy tourism.
Want to have a night economy, why do we turn off the lights at midnight?
Having just returned to Vietnam after two consecutive trips to Maldives and China, Mr. Nguyen Tan (living in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) commented that there was nothing surprising with the achievements that tourism in some countries has achieved from the night economy. Recently, on a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Maldives with a transit in Thailand, Mr. Tan did not miss the opportunity to "stop by" Bangkok for a night out, even though he had been to Thailand dozens of times. Mr. Tan said that from Phuket to Pattaya, Bangkok all have very large night markets where there is everything from local to international cuisine to shopping for items from heaven to earth. The special thing is that these places in Thailand are open very late.
In addition, at night in Thailand there are "plenty" of shows to serve the needs of all audiences. For example, in Phuket, shows by transgender people have been going on for many years and are still always crowded. Tickets are sold at hotels and travel agencies on the roadside, and after buying, there is a car to pick you up at the show time, very convenient. After that, you can go to bars and pubs all night long.
Vui Fest Night Market hopes to light up Phu Quoc night tourism
"I stayed in Phuket for 3 nights, the first night I went to see Simon Cabaret, had dinner. The second night, I walked around Patong night street, went to bars. But Patong night street is huge. The last night I went to see small shows, went for street massage... Shanghai in China is the same, the night activities are open very late and diverse, dense with giant shopping areas. Each entertainment spot has too many activities, so each city can stay for several nights to go to all of them. The good thing is that the places to eat and play are close to each other or have very convenient traffic connections. It is not necessary to rush to go out at night after a day tour, but you can rest until 9-10pm before "getting dressed". In Vietnam or specifically Ho Chi Minh City, there are also places to play at night such as going on a river cruise, going to Bui Vien or taking a double-decker night bus. But after one night, it's all over, the second night is clearly not knowing what else to do... The product is monotonous, has no special highlights and always "forces" guests to go to bed early because of limited operating hours", Mr. Tan commented.
This was also noted in the summary of 3 years of implementing Decision No. 1129 of the Government approving the Project on developing the night-time economy in Vietnam by Dr. Tran Thi Hong Minh, Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM). Dr. Hong Minh assessed that up to now, the awareness of ministries, branches and localities about policies, viewpoints, goals and solutions for developing the night-time economy has changed. Action plans and communication content all agree with the concept of the night-time economy associated with the most open time frame (ie from 6pm the previous night to 6am the next morning). However, the realization of the goals and policies for developing the night-time economy in the past 3 years is still inadequate. Night-time economic activities still lack diversity, specificity and creativity, mainly stopping at culinary activities, performing arts, walking streets, night markets, etc.
There are not many specific policy changes towards developing the night-time economy. There is also no clear change in integrating planning for night-time economic activities into time-based planning. Localities recognize the need for breakthrough policies, even through pilot projects, to develop the night-time economy, but recommendations are slow to be concretized...
"Localities need to be more daring in implementing solutions to develop the night-time economy with new approaches, breakthrough incentive policies, and support in both legal and financial corridors for night-time economic activities," emphasized Dr. Hong Minh.
The night economy will not be able to "light up" as long as thinking and management policies remain at "midnight". The night economy area must be planned separately, far from residential areas so that it can operate bustlingly 24/7 without affecting people's lives.
Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Trung Luong (Former Deputy Director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research)
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