Once Asia’s party capital, will Bangkok’s nightlife scene recover even if Thailand’s tourism industry picks up?

Thailand’s nightlife economy was worth about US$5 billion, but Covid-19 has shuttered many bars and clubs after 20 months of lost business and no government help

Curbs are only likely to be lifted in December, and many operators fear Asia’s party city may already have lost its reputation for variety and reinvention

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Bangkok’s Soi Cowboy area after bars were allowed to open with tight restrictions on alcohol sales. Industry players fear many of the independent bars and clubs that give the city its character will close. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 28 Oct 2021Updated: 9:17pm, 28 Oct 2021

When DJ and producer Marmosets released his pounding techno track Krungthep Ratree (Bangkok nightlife) in June 2020, he had no idea how relevant his lament to the fading glory of Asia’s party city would be, and of the decimation ahead for bars and clubs as the coronavirus pandemic cut through Thailand.

Nightlife has only been allowed to operate legally for a few weeks since then, as authorities tried to beat back a months-long Covid-19 outbreak by banning alcohol sales inside licensed premises, effectively closing clubs and bars.

From the racy go-gos of Soi Cowboy to the mixology bars of upmarket Thong Lor, the rooftop hotel happy hours to the street-side pop ups that serve booze until dawn, Bangkok’s cacophonous nightlife has been muted.

Marmosets reels off the names of closed underground clubs, many of which will never return as owners go broke or run out of hope.

“Twelve bars I know have closed permanently, most of the other places that I used to play are temporarily closed,” the ever-present fixture on Bangkok’s music scene told This Week in Asia.

“While Covid is with us I don’t see any signs of nightlife returning.”