Speaking to the media at the end of last week, the governor said the capital’s uniqueness would not be allowed to wither and die. He claimed it would not be turned into a sterile location like Singapore’s Orchard Road and the Bangkok Chinatown area at Yaowarat and vibrant Khao San Road would see little change.
Mr Supasorn continued by saying street food hawkers in these two Bangkok locations would be shifted around a little while pavements on other main roads would be cleared so that pedestrians could walk on them again. The TAT governor was reacting to a proposal put forward by Bangkok’s municipal authorities to completely banish food vendors and their stalls from city streets.
12GO ASIA notes that while an estimated 60 per cent of the 30,000 street food hawkers have already moved or been retired, street food is unlikely to disappear without a trace. Cheap and tasty street food such as kuay tiew and noodle soup and kao phat fried rice are staples of the Thai diet and must tries for international tourists.
Thailand tourism authorities rethink veto on Bangkok street food
News in Asia
The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says a recently announced ban on street food vendors in Bangkok will not push their carts off the streets altogether. Yuthasak Supasorn told reporters that two main zones would be allowed to remain as they are while in others vendors will be moved off main thoroughfares.