SURAT THANI — The wildest party for gap year farangs in the world has been cancelled due fears of the coronavirus, local administration announced Thursday.
Per directives from the Ministry of Health, Koh Phangan chief Wattana Buranathanang said the Full Moon Party would be cancelled until the coronavirus subsided, starting from March 8 – a further major blow to the already struggling tourism industry.
Provincial authorities have also asked private operators to cooperate with the ban on Full Moon parties, which draw at least 10,000 tourists every month.
The Full Moon Party is a free-for-all party full of body paint, music, and buckets of alcohol at Rin Beach on Koh Phangan.
It is unclear whether other gatherings on Phangan, like Half Moon and Black Moon parties, would also be cancelled, but an official there said a similar ban is very likely.
In November, it was announced that 12,000 Russians alone were coming to visit Surat Thani from Dec. 27 through April 22.
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