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Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and has a population of 328,961 as of 2021.
Pattaya City (, , ) is a special local government organization area within Bang Lamung district and has a population of 119,532. It covers the tambon of Nong Prue and Na Klua and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. Pattaya City has grown into all adjacent Tambon and accounts for the largest population percentage in the district, making it de facto a part of the "Pattaya-Bang Lamung-Jomtien" area, otherwise known as "Greater Pattaya".
The city is in the industrial Eastern seaboard zone, along with Si Racha, Laem Chabang, and Chonburi. Pattaya is at the center of the Pattaya-Chonburi Metropolitan Area (a in Chonburi Province with a population of 1,000,000), which forms the third largest metropolitan area in Thailand.
The place the armies confronted each other was thereafter known as "Thap Phraya", which means the "army of the Phraya". Thap Phraya was later changed to Phatthaya, which means 'the wind blowing from the southwest to the northeast at the beginning of the rainy season'.
A fishing village until the 1960s, tourism began during the Vietnam War, when American servicemen began arriving on R&R (rest and relaxation). One large group who arrived from a base in Korat on 29 June 1959 and rented houses from Phraya Sunthorn at the south end of the beach, on what is now known as the "Strip", are credited with recommending Pattaya, whose fame spread by word of mouth.
On 29 November 1978, Pattaya was granted city status by the Thai government. In 1978, it also became a special governed city.
In 1981, businessman Lek Viriyaphan began constructing on the Sanctuary of Truth which remains unfinished and is entirely made out of wood.
Following the 2014 coup, the National Council for Peace and Order appointed two mayors until in 2018 when the Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha appointed Sontaya Kunplome, brother of Itthiphol, as mayor. Mayor Sontaya went on to form the Rao Rak Pattaya party which won the 2022 mayoral election led by Poramet Ngampichet, who has served as mayor ever since.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pattaya's economy suffered greatly due to travel restrictions restricting tourism.
From the 2010s through to the 2020s, Pattaya attempted to shift public perception of it being a sex-city to a more family-friendly location. Bars which were friendly towards pedophiles in Sunee Plaza were closed, and the amount of gogo bars on Walking Street declined. However, a 2023 documentary by Deutsche Welle, which has been banned in Thailand, resurrected concerns around Pattaya's sex industry and its association with child prostitution. The documentary is around a German tourist who is claimed to have paid ฿1 million to return to Germany and escape charges. The claims resulted in PM Srettha Thavisin launching an investigation headed by Surachate Hapkarn. The documentary has been described by local media as having the potential of hurting Pattaya's industry which has been recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pattaya has frequently suffered from flooding, especially during the Wet season. Torrential rain on 27 August 2021 left many important roads under water, with water reaching up to two metres deep in some areas. Pattaya City officials called the August flooding as the worst flood for Pattaya in a decade.
On 4 November 2023, Pattaya was awarded the Integrity and Transparency Assessment award for the highest development category. The award was presented by the National Anti-Corruption Commission to Poramet at Government House in Bangkok.
As with the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, registered population figures issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) and the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) do not fully capture the scope of the urban transformation that has occurred over time, especially with the economy being dependent on the large numbers of casual Thai workers who work in the city yet remain registered in their hometowns, and the employment turnover from and to the capital, as well as seasonal farm migration. Migrant workers from neighboring nations, and many long-term who reside in the city as retirees, self-employed, or contracted are traditionally not counted. A reliable figure has never been published for the total population in Pattaya, which is, however, thought to be quite large (on the order of half a million people) given the ubiquity and sheer number of migrant workers. Pattaya additionally has a massive population inflow from short stay tourism, with 2000 hotels and 136,000 rooms available as of 2015.
Throughout the years, the municipality (Pattaya City) has outgrown its municipal borders (53.5 km²) and now reaches into all neighboring Tambon ( tambon) within the Bang Lamung district, forming the "Pattaya-Bang Lamung-Jomtien" area, covering . Although known formally as "Greater Pattaya"
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Pattaya is part of the Pattaya-Chonburi Metropolitan Area, a conurbation of the urban areas of Chonburi, Si Racha, and Pattaya. The total population of this area is 999,092, making it the third largest metropolitan area in the country after Bangkok and Chiang Mai.
A growing community of foreign Pensioner lives in Pattaya. The Thai Immigration Bureau has a special visa category for foreigners over the age of 50 who wish to retire in Thailand. The city also has a large Indian community, which mainly speaks Tamil.
The city of Pattaya is a special municipal area which covers the whole tambon Nong Prue (Nongprue) and Na Kluea (Naklua) and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. Bang Lamung township which forms the northern border of Pattaya covers parts of the tambon Bang Lamung (Banglamung), Nong Pla Lai and Takhian Tia. Bang Sare (Bang Saray) is on the southern border of Pattaya.
"Greater Pattaya" occupies most of the coastline of Banglamung (one of the eleven districts that make up Chonburi Province). It is divided into a larger northern section which spans the areas to the east of Naklua Beach (the most northern beach) and Pattaya Beach (the main beach) plus Phra Tamnak Hill (often called "Buddha Hill" because of the temples on top of the hill) headland immediately south of Pattaya Beach, and a smaller southern section covering the area to the east of Jomtien Beach (directly south of Phra Tamnak Hill).
Without intervention Pattaya will likely see its beaches disappear in roughly ten years according to Chulalongkorn University researchers. Within a month of the completion of the restoration of the first 400 m of Pattaya Beach, the work was "seriously damaged" by flooding. The beach is the first in the country to use imported sand to compensate for coastal erosion. An official said, "...the longer it is left without the flood damage being repaired, the worse it will get."
Phra Tamnak Hill is on the south side of Pattaya and is popular for its viewpoints and the temple (Wat Phra Yai) on top of the hill. Pattaya Park and Pattaya tower are at the south end of Phra Tamnak Hill and the Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall (P.E.A.C.H), is positioned at the north end of Phra Tamnak Hill. In recent years, Phra Tamnak Hill has gained in popularity because of its more natural environment, nicer beaches, and its convenient location between Jomtien and Pattaya city.
Jomtien is divided from Pattaya by Thepprasit Road, the southern route into Pattaya city. It consists of high-rise condominiums, beach side hotels, bungalow complexes, shops, bars, and restaurants.
Offshore islands include three "near islands": Ko Lan (main island), Ko Lan, and Ko Lan, from the shore of Pattaya. The "far islands" are Ko Phai (main island), Ko Phai, Ko Phai and Ko Phai, located offshore further west of the "near islands". Ko Rin lies offshore to the south-west, south of Ko Phai group. The names "near islands", "far islands", and "Coral Island" are used for marketing purposes only and do not correspond to any naming conventions of the island groups and are not shown on maritime charts published by the hydrography Service of the Royal Thai Navy.
In June 2016, the Regional Environmental Office reported that, "The sea water along the busy central Pattaya beaches is of poor quality and could endanger human and marine life."
The sea water along central Pattaya beaches is of poor quality even in the absence of sewage spills and "could endanger human and marine life", the regional environmental office has said. They deemed sea water quality near central Pattaya beaches as "poor" and deteriorating. They judged water quality near Na Klua in North Pattaya, South Pattaya, Ko Lan, and Jomtien Beach as "fairly good". The city has considered expanding two water management plants to increase capacity for better treatment of wastewater prior to discharge into the ocean. The water treatment plant in Soi Wat Nongyai after expansion would be able to treat around 130,000 cubic metres of waste water a day, up from 80,000 cubic metres at present. The expansion was never implemented.
In November 2018, the Pattaya City Council approved 188 million Thai baht for the repair of its six wastewater treatment plants. Installed in 2000, the plants can accommodate 65,000 m3 of wastewater per day. More than a third of plant equipment was found to be 40–50 percent worn out. The system treats waste from a 36 km2 portion of Pattaya, or 68 percent of its urban area. Earlier plans to increase treatment capacity to 135,000 m3 were never implemented and existing plants were allowed to fall into disrepair. Pattaya uses more than 200,000 m3 of water a day, but claims to only discharge about 70,000 m3 a day. The discrepancy is unexplained. Once treated, there are no tests to measure water quality before it is dumped back into the sea, which may account for foul water discharges.
Pattaya projects include developing a tram in the city and building a bigger cruise terminal, as well as new tourist attractions: a water park, an ice dome, cultural markets, Thai boxing gyms, theaters, and conference halls. All are under development. "We aimed to get rid of the previous seedy image of Pattaya and try to promote a new image to show that Pattaya is a place for everyone with diversity of new tourist attractions," said an official of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). He said that the EEC would make Pattaya more competitive compared with other popular Thai beach destinations such as Phuket Province and Ko Samui, with cheaper transport costs.
Fourteen million visitors in 2018 contributed 239 billion Thai baht to the city's treasury. That represents more than 70% of Pattaya's total income for the year. The city's leadership plans to reduce Pattaya's reliance on tourism to 60% by 2025 by transforming itself into "Neo Pattaya", an international business center. Key to the plans are infrastructure improvements: 9.5 billion baht for flood management projects and upgrading sewage treatment plants to handle 130,000 m3 of waste per day, up from 67,000 m3 per day in 2019.
Pattaya's thriving real estate market plays a pivotal role in bolstering the local economy. The continuous growth in the sector, particularly driven by foreign interest in condos, contributes significantly to employment, from construction to property management. Increased property transactions also generate substantial revenue through taxes and fees, further enhancing the city's fiscal health.
During 2020-2022, Pattaya witnessed a limited number of new projects, resulting in high absorption rates. Notably, the second and third quarters of 2023 saw a remarkable uptick in condo launches, significantly elevating sales. In 2023, Pattaya maintained its lead in condo transfers to foreigners, surpassing Bangkok with proportions of 41.7% and 37.5%, respectively. This outperformed the average rates of 30.8% and 48.8% from 2018 to 2022.
There are two airport bus services.
The 389 Bus (airportpattayabus) service connects Pattaya with Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). It uses modern, air-conditioned buses, and takes around hours to reach the airport. The trip from the airport (Level 1 Gate 8 at the Arrival Hall) to the bus terminal in Pattaya, makes three stops at North, Central, and South Pattaya intersections before going to their last drop off point, the office on Thappraya Road (near Jomtien). It can take longer if many hotel stops are negotiated along Sukhumvit Road in Pattaya. The other bus service is the Bell Travel Service (Coach 36) which goes from the airport (Level 1 between Gate 7 & 8) to the Pattaya Bell office at the North Pattaya Intersection, and then provides transfers to local hotels.
Buses from a terminal on Sukhumvit Road near Pattaya Klang (near the Central Pattaya intersection) connect Pattaya with many destinations in the north-east region (i.e. Isan).
City and suburban services are mainly provided by songthaew, popularly nicknamed "baht buses" or "blue taxis".
An article in the British tabloid the Daily Mirror have described Pattaya as "the world's sex capital", a "modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah". This provoked anger from government officials as high up as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Pol Col Apichai Krobpetch, the Pattaya police superintendent, denied that Pattaya is a sex trade paradise. Upset about the British media's stories, he insisted they were fabricated. "There is no such thing as prostitution in Pattaya," said Col Apichai. "Where did they get the figure of 27,000 sex workers in Pattaya? Anyone can make up this information....Thai ladies having sex with foreigners is their personal issue. If they like each other, I don't see anything wrong with what they do behind closed doors." In response, Pattaya social worker Surang Janyam, the director of Service Workers IN Group Foundation, said that estimated number of Pattaya prostitutes published in the Daily Mirror is inaccurate: "27,000 sex workers in Pattaya is way too low. We have a lot more sex workers than that." In June 2019, over twenty high ranking Police, Army and Local government officers toured Pattaya and reported the central streets safe and free from illegal activities.
As evidence of the government's commitment to clean up Pattaya, on 26 February 2017 at 20:00, 60 police officers and soldiers raided Pattaya's notorious Soi 6 to check for violations of the law. When the checks were completed, police announced that all licenses were in order and there was no law breaking of any kind, including prostitution, taking place there.
Pattaya also has Asia's largest gay scene based around Boyztown, the Jomtien Beach, and Sunee Plaza. The city is also famous for its flamboyant kathoey cabaret shows where transgender entertainers perform to packed houses.
People who visit the Pattaya area may encounter petty crime, usually limited to pickpocketing and confidence tricks, particularly in and around major tourist areas such as Jomtien and Pattaya Beaches and on the "baht buses". A special Tourist Police division has been established to aid tourists who are victims of crime. The 2009 British eight-episode TV documentary Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand described crimes involving tourists in Pattaya.
On 11 April 2009, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared a state of emergency in the areas of Pattaya and Chonburi, in response to Red Shirt anti-government protesters breaking into the conference center of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort hotel complex, the site of an ASEAN Summit. The meeting was immediately cancelled and Asian leaders were evacuated, some by helicopter.
The GMMTV Boys' Love (BL) series Moonlight Chicken (2023) is set in Pattaya.
Economy
Pattaya is at the center of Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). Investments totaling more than 1.5 trillion baht (US$45 billion) are flowing into EEC infrastructure projects: airports, deep-sea ports, high-speed railways, autoroutes. The result will enhance Pattaya's accessibility. According to the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) the EEC investments, the U-Tapao International Airport and the high-speed train that will link three major airports to Pattaya, will make Pattaya the heart of the eastern region. The TCC view is that, "Plenty of attractions...will lure lots more foreign and domestic tourists in the future." Better connectivity will reduce both the cost and time to travel to Pattaya, with the TCC estimating the number of tourists visiting the EEC region to rise to 46.7 million over the next few years, one and half times the current 29.8 million visitors.
Transportation
Road
Rail
A daily service operates on the Eastern Line of the State Railway of Thailand between Pattaya Station and Hualumphong Station in Bangkok.
Bus
Pattaya is served by Pattaya's main bus terminal on Pattaya Nuea (North Pattaya Road) near Sukhumvit Road. Bus services from Mo Chit 2 bus terminal, New Southern Bus Terminal and Ekkamai Bus Terminal, connect Bangkok to Pattaya's main bus terminal.
Air
Pattaya is about by road from Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), the country's largest international airport. By road, it is accessed from Sukhumvit Road and Motorway 7 from Bangkok. Pattaya is also served by scheduled flights via U-Tapao International Airport (UTP) which is 45-minute drive south of the city.
Boat
A passenger-only ferry service from Pattaya to Hua Hin began operation on 12 January 2017 and is operated by Royal Passenger Liner. By road, the journey takes five to six hours. The ferry shortens travel time to about two hours, subject to sea conditions. The ferry cruises at 27 knots on the 113 km journey across the Gulf of Thailand with a maximum passenger capacity of 150 persons. Larger ferries carrying up to 260 people may be added to the service later. Ferries capable of carrying vehicles are projected for 2020. In November 2018, Hua Hin deputy chief Chareewat Phramanee confirmed the ferry service, suspended due to low tourist numbers during low season, would be up and running again for high season between Hua Hin and Pattaya, a 2.5-hour journey for 1,250 baht on a catamaran with a maximum capacity of 340.
Administration
Pattaya city has been administered under a special autonomous system since 30 October 1978. It has a status comparable to a municipality and is separately administered by the mayor of Pattaya city who is responsible for making policies, organising public services, and supervising the city's workforce for an area that covers 53.4 square kilometers and consists of four subdistricts, 18 villages ( muban).
Nong Prue 7 67,846 Na Klua 7 49,129 Nong Pla Lai 3 2,403 Huai Yai 1 154
Tourism
Once a fishing town, Pattaya first boomed as an R&R destination for US servicemen stationed at nearby former USAF base at U-Tapao, or other US bases in Thailand during the Vietnam War. In 2018, Pattaya was the 18th most visited city in the world with 9.6 million tourists, and 3rd most in Thailand, after Bangkok (24.1 million) and Phuket (10.5 million).
Festivals
Nightlife
Pattaya has derived part of its reputation as a tourist destination due to the sex industryNopporn Wong-Anan Children lured into Thai sex industry in Pattaya . Reuters. 15 December 2006 and the resulting nightlife, and this notoriety has influenced the city's evolution in many ways. Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work, volume 2, 2006, p. 454, Greenwood Press, Prostitution in Thailand is technically illegal but tolerated in most cities, including Pattaya.Yodmanee Tepanon (2006) Exploring the Minds of Sex Tourists: The Psychological Motivation of Liminal People . (PDF). PhD Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Retrieved on 14 December 2011. The city's vast numbers of , , , , and hourly hotels, serve foreign tourists as well as locals. This is especially prominent on Walking Street as well as other areas around the city.Frommer's Thailand, 7th ed, 2006, p. 170, Wiley Publishing, Inc. Efforts have been made to clean up the city's image.
Crime
In recent years, Pattaya has served as a hideaway for foreigners with connections to organized crime in their home countries, and dozens have been murdered in gang-related disputes.
Law
In 2019, the International Thai Foundation ('ITF') established a Community Legal Centre in Soi Bua Kao, Pattaya. Its objectives are to promote education, protect human rights & relieve poverty for the people in Thailand. This is the third CLC in Thailand Pro Bono Community Hub in Chiang Mai.
Media and communications
Several local foreign-language newspapers and magazines are published either weekly or monthly, especially in English, Russian, and German. The English-language newspapers include the Pattaya Mail and Pattaya People. The Pattaya News is an online portal that writes the local news in six languages. DER FARANG is a German-language newspaper published every 14 days. Thailands Tidende is a Norwegian-language newspaper published monthly.
In popular media
The novel Platform by French author Michel Houellebecq prominently features the city of Pattaya as well as its nightlife.
Education
International schools in Pattaya:
The Thai-Japanese Association School Sriracha, a nihonjin gakko, is in nearby Si Racha. It is an affiliate of the Thai-Japanese Association School in Bangkok." 学校案内 シラチャ校アクセス ." Thai Japanese Association School. Retrieved on 9 January 2018. Si Racha formerly housed the Sriracha-Pattaya Japanese Supplement School, a Hoshuko."" (). MEXT. 2 January 2003. Retrieved on 12 January 2018. "シラチヤ・パタヤ SRIRAOHA・PATTAYA JAPANESE SUPPLEMENT SCHOOL
Twin towns and sister cities
Pattaya has agreements with the following sister cities
See also
Notes
External links
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