Entertainment venues in Pattaya have urged the government to ease Covid-related measures to allow them to sell alcoholic drinks ahead of the New Year Festival.

Damrongkiat Phinitkarn, secretary of the Entertainment & Tourism Association of Pattaya City, said on Tuesday that since the country reopened on Nov 1, the government has not permitted entertainment venues in Pattaya to fully get back to business.

Mr Damrongkiat asked the government to speed up talks about bringing the schedule forward so that these businesses can attract more tourists and not miss out on this lucrative season.

Over 80% of the population has now been vaccinated and the rate of infections and Covid-19 clusters has dropped significantly, he said.

Phisut Sae-Khu, president of the Thai Hotels Association's (THA) eastern chapter, said Pattaya has been organising more events to draw tourists to the province, but most of the foreigners who arrive are just visiting their families or running businesses in Thailand.

He said the hotels in Pattaya were almost fully booked during the recent two-day Pattaya Fireworks Festival, but that this was only the case because it was a weekend.

If the situation has not improved by February, over 10% of SMEs will probably be shut down, he warned, noting that half of the members of the Pattaya Attraction Club are already out of business.