Pattaya’s once-thriving dining industry is facing severe financial strain in 2025, with many restaurant owners warning that current conditions may be more damaging than those experienced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising operational costs and declining consumer spending are now placing immense pressure on a key sector of the city’s tourism-driven economy.
The crisis stems from a confluence of compounding factors, including escalating energy prices, increasing costs of raw ingredients, labour shortages, and weaker domestic demand. This has led some in the industry to dub the situation a “hamburger crisis,” reflecting both the severity and the broad impact on eateries of all types.
Sorrathep Steve, President of the Restaurant Business Club and an honorary advisor to the Hostel Association of Thailand, has publicly urged Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her economic team to address what he describes as an unsustainable situation. “Restaurants are being squeezed from both ends — out-of-control overheads and disappearing customer purchasing power,” Sorrathep told local media.
In response, Sorrathep has proposed a five-point plan aimed at stabilizing the sector and encouraging consumer activity. His recommendations include:
- Replacing the upcoming third phase of digital wallet handouts with a renewed Khon La Khrueng (Let’s Go Halves) co-pay scheme for at least six months, intended to directly boost food-related spending.
- Introducing tax deductions for individual and business dining expenses, allowing taxpayers to deduct up to 20,000 baht for personal spending and 100,000 baht for businesses — a measure Sorrathep claims could be budget-neutral while encouraging consumption.
- Implementing controls on energy and agricultural input costs, particularly as dry-season conditions continue to inflate produce prices.
- Temporarily reducing employers’ contributions to Social Security by half through the end of 2025 to provide immediate payroll relief.
- Deploying short-term tourism initiatives alongside the development of a comprehensive, 15-year sustainable tourism strategy, rather than relying solely on seasonal promotional campaigns.
Sorrathep also voiced frustration over the government’s limited response to past industry proposals, citing previous requests for food expense deductions and calling earlier financial aid schemes ineffective for small-scale vendors, SMEs, and street food sellers. “Those cash handouts were used to pay off debts. Meanwhile, costs rise and customers vanish,” he said.
Local publication Pattaya Mail reported that restaurant revenues in the city have dropped by more than 50% in some cases, further illustrating the sector’s ongoing vulnerability. The We Travel Together domestic tourism stimulus programme, once a crucial support mechanism, has reportedly lost its effectiveness due to delays and diminishing impact.
“The restaurant industry supports one of Thailand’s largest supply chains,” Sorrathep concluded. “When we suffer, the entire economy feels the effects. If not now, when will the government act?”
Government officials have yet to issue a formal response to the proposals raised by the Restaurant Business Club.
