Phuket hotel operators petition Parliament over licensing legal vacuum

Representatives of Phuket’s hotel industry have submitted a formal petition to a House committee, seeking urgent intervention over what they described as inconsistent enforcement of hotel licensing laws and a legal vacuum that has left thousands of businesses unable to secure or renew licences.

The appeal was made on June 25 to the House of Representatives’ Committee on Decentralization, Local Administration, and Special Administrative Arrangements. The petition was received by committee chairman Kongkrit Chatmalirat from Phuket Boutique Accommodation Association President Chinnawat Udomniyom and Tourism Council of Thailand Subcommittee for the Promotion of Small Hotels chairman Manosit Chaengjob. Senator Nipon Ekavanich, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Industry, was also present.

Chinnawat said small hotel operators had spent years trying to resolve licensing problems and had welcomed Ministerial Regulation No. 4 under the Hotel Act in 2023, which relaxed physical requirements for hotel licences. He said the measure had enabled an estimated 70% of small hotels nationwide to qualify for legal registration.

However, he said Phuket operators continued to face inconsistent interpretation and enforcement of the rules. According to the petitioners, the situation worsened after the ministerial regulation expired, creating a legal vacuum that has left more than 5,600 hotels across Phuket unable to obtain new licences or renew existing ones.

The operators said that although the Ministry of Interior has set up consultation clinics and licensing assistance centres, there are still no clear measures to support businesses caught in the transition. They warned that the uncertainty was harming operators, reducing community income and affecting the local economy.

The group asked the parliamentary committee to pursue immediate, medium-term and long-term solutions, including bringing relevant government agencies together to determine a path forward and amending legislation so operators can run their businesses legally while supporting sustainable tourism.

Kongkrit said the committee had received repeated complaints about the issue and would raise the operators’ proposals with the relevant agencies to speed up solutions and clarify enforcement.

The licensing dispute was also discussed in a separate follow-up meeting between House committee members and Phuket officials. Other issues raised included hotel fee collection, investigations into alleged mafia influence, and probes into businesses suspected of using Thai nominee shareholders for foreign investors.

Provincial officials said the Ministry of Interior, through the Department of Provincial Administration and Phuket Province, has opened a Consultation and Complaint Centre and a Permit Application Clinic to help hotel and tourism operators comply with the law. The services are running daily from 8:30am to 4:30pm until July 2 at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, with additional application submission points at the Mueang Phuket, Kathu and Thalang District Offices.

Phuket Vice Governor and Ministry of Interior Security Adviser Pol Lt Col Khetarat Chansilp said authorities would complete data collection within two to three weeks and were acting on the prime minister’s instructions to accelerate solutions. He said he had personally inspected beaches, vehicle rental businesses and other tourism-related operations to ensure problems were addressed quickly.

Vice Governor Romdon Hayiawae said the province was compiling a comprehensive database of hotels across Phuket. He said more than 1,200 hotels are currently legally registered, while others remain in the process of renewing licences as officials work to bring operators into compliance.

At the end of the meeting, the parliamentary committee praised Phuket officials for their efforts and said the visit was meant to ensure policies directed by the prime minister and deputy interior minister were being implemented effectively. Committee members also pledged continued support for proposals aimed at resolving Phuket’s long-running hotel licensing impasse.

The petition comes as the government intensifies a crackdown on allegedly unlicensed hotels in Phuket, with Department of Provincial Administration officers carrying out raids and arrests in recent weeks while the Interior Ministry urges operators to enter the legal licensing system through a temporary consultation and application programme.