New seafood festival debuts in Pattaya
It’s not just Phuket having a seafood festival to reboot tourism – a seafood festival is happening in Pattaya! The festival, called the ‘Squid Fair’ debuted yesterday in front of the Terminal 21 Pattaya shopping centre. Just like Phuket’s Roi Rim Lay and ‘Tastival‘ festivals, Squid Fair aims to boost the local economy by bringing in income to vendors. It will last until tomorrow (Sunday), May 1, and will close up its last day with a performance by Thai singer Earth Pattawee.
With several well known seafood vendors all gathered together in one spot in front of the popular shopping zone, customers can enjoy a nice variety, particularly a variety of squid. The vendors are decorated with Japanese ornaments. The organisations teaming up to host the Squid Fair are the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association.
As Phuket and Pattaya have both historically been major tourism hostspots in Thailand, officials from both areas have scrambled to find ways to revive their tourism economies disheveled by Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the Thai government. In Phuket, officials this year have organised 2 seafood festivals, and an event with hot air balloons at the Sarasin Bridge, linking Phuket to the mainland.
Last month, Phuket Governor Narong said the provincial government will work with local government organisations to create 10,000 vacancies for minimum wage jobs. The vacancies, he said, would pay the minimum wage of 336 baht per day, for 20 days per month, and would last for four months. The total salaries would be 6,720 baht per month. Narong said, “At least they will be able to feed themselves”.
Meanwhile in Pattaya, an entertainment official in Pattaya called on authorities last month to move closing times on venues to 1am instead of 11pm. The official was the secretary of the Pattaya Association of Entertainment Venue Operators. He partly got his way with the new official closing time been changed to midnight from tomorrow, May 1.
SOURCE: The Pattaya News
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