The new closing times from 2 a.m. to midnight have provoked a huge outcry from bar and nightclub owners and workers who warn profits and tourist arrivals will be slashed and unemployment will skyrocket.

The regulations, approved by the Cabinet earlier this month, designate nightlife zones in the capital, Bangkok, the beach resort of Pattaya, Phuket island and other major tourist centers where the old closing hours will still rule.

The measures are part of government efforts to curb growing juvenile crime, restore traditional values and alter the country's well-entrenched image as a raunchy paradise for sex and thrill seekers.

"I don't understand why the government only sees teenagers in the picture. This isn't only about wayward kids but also tourism revenues and hundreds of bar workers who are mostly poor people," Chuwit Komolvisit, owner of a massage parlor chain, told The Associated Press Sunday.

Hoping to keep the young from drugs, sex and alcohol, the government will also impose a new 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew for youths under 18 who are not accompanied to entertainment places by a parent. It goes into effect March 29.

"During the school break, the government will carry out a social order campaign in Bangkok and big cities, and tackle the drug problem once and for all," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday. The vacation begins early March.

While most adults seem to back such a campaign, the shorter opening hours have even drawn fire from some members of Thaksin's ruling Thai Rak Thai party.

Patarasak Osatanukroh, an MP from Bangkok, was quoted in The Nation newspaper Sunday as saying he and other party members would seek a detailed explanation of the new regulations from Thai Rak Thai leaders including Deputy Prime Minister Purachai Piumsombun, the architect of earlier social order campaigns.

Patarasak predicted big losses of revenue for Bangkok entertainment places.

The Nation had earlier reported that implementation of the new closing hours might even be postponed because of a new draft resolution from the Interior Ministry which maintains current closing times. Some entertainment venue owners also believe they may get a last-minute reprieve because confusion persists over zoning and other details.