Pattaya
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 351,391 as of 2025.
Pattaya City is a special local government organization area within Bang Lamung district and has a population of 119,532. It covers the tambons of Nong Prue and Na Klua and parts of Huai Yai and Nong Pla Lai. Pattaya City has grown into all adjacent sub-districts 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, which forms the third largest metropolitan area in Thailand.
History
Name
The name Pattaya evolved from the march of Phraya Tak and his army from Ayutthaya to Chanthaburi, which took place before the fall of the former capital to Burmese invaders in 1767. When his army arrived in the vicinity of what is now Pattaya, Phraya Tak encountered the troops of a local leader named Nai Klom, who tried to intercept him. When the two met face to face, Nai Klom was impressed by Phraya Tak's dignified manner and his army's strict discipline. He surrendered without a fight and joined his forces.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'.
Growth
Following World War II, entrepreneur Parinya Chawalitthamrong saw the potential of investing in Pattaya and donated some land to the governing administration. Pattaya City Hall would later be constructed on this land.A fishing village until the 1960s, tourism began during the Vietnam War, when American servicemen began arriving on R&R. 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.
21st century
In 2004, Nirun Wattanasartsaton became the first democratically elected mayor. In the 2008 mayoral election, Itthiphol Khunpluem became Pattaya's mayor. As mayor, Itthiphol approved construction on the Waterfront Suites and Residence condominium near the Bali Hai pier, which became controversial. His approval later led to his arrest in 2023 over corruption.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 monsoon 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.
Climate
Pattaya has a tropical wet and dry climate, which is divided into the following seasons: hot and dry, hot and humid, and hot and rainy.Demographics
The municipality has a population of 119,532 residents, while the city has a population of 351,391. Most of these people counted are Thai, with most migrant populations not recognized, although migrant workers are increasingly regularized due to foreign pressure. Some details of the census remain complex, as even indigenous Thais without nationality are not being recognized. Therefore, the census population currently does not represent the total figure.As with the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, registered population figures issued by the National Statistics Office and the Department of Provincial Administration 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 expatriates 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 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 has outgrown its municipal borders and now reaches into all neighboring subdistricts within the Bang Lamung district, forming the "Pattaya-Bang Lamung-Jomtien" area, covering. Although known formally as "Greater Pattaya", the more commonly used term to describe this urban area is simply Pattaya. Changes in population and area size are regularly revised by the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning and the Chonburi Provincial Administrative Organization.
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 retirees 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.
Physical geography
Pattaya, on the Gulf of Thailand, is approximately south of the city of Bangkok in Bang Lamung District, Chonburi Province.The city of Pattaya is a special municipal area which covers the whole tambon Nong Prue and Na Kluea 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, Nong Pla Lai and Takhian Tia. Bang Sare is on the southern border of Pattaya.
"Greater Pattaya" occupies most of the coastline of Banglamung. It is divided into a larger northern section which spans the areas to the east of Naklua Beach and Pattaya Beach plus Phra Tamnak Hill headland immediately south of Pattaya Beach, and a smaller southern section covering the area to the east of Jomtien Beach.
Beaches and islands
The main sweep of the bay area is divided into two principal beachfronts. Pattaya Beach lies parallel to the city centre, and runs about 2.7 km long from Pattaya Nuea south along the coast to Pattaya Tai which is the entrance to Walking Street. The beach, which used to be 35 m wide, suffers from erosion and in some places was reduced to a width of only two to three meters. A 429 million baht beach restoration scheme was implemented in 2018. It will take 360,000 m3 of sand from Ko Rang Kwian offshore to increase the beach width to 50 m.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 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, 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.
File:US Navy 020528-N-0401E-003 Cobra Gold - amphibious landing.jpg|thumb|right|220px|Ko Khram's shore and adjacent islets during a combined amphibious landing force exercise Cobra Gold.
Offshore islands include three "near islands": Ko Lan, Ko Sak, and Ko Krok, from the shore of Pattaya. The "far islands" are Ko Phai, Ko Man Wichai, Ko Hu Chang and Ko Klung Badan, 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 Hydrographic 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."