To be honest I think the problem began with the recession .
The old style of tourist - British , European , American all but disappeared or at least their numbers dwindled .
These were the people who drank in bars and spent their money in bars , its still that way just in lesser numbers .
The tourists who replaced them - Russians , Indian's, Chinese etc just don't seem to have the same bar culture , that may or may not be a good thing but in resorts based solely on entertainment its gonna hit business .
I believe in an ever shrinking market the Thai's have got greedy , prices have gone up instead of putting on offers , bill padding , rip offs and bad attitudes are all too common now , instead of encouraging people into bars many seem more content to make a fast buck and alienate them .
Too many people believe we owe them a living .
There have always been badly behaved drunks in Thailand the English lager lout or the American sailor has just been replaced with a clueless Russian , I don't believe that's the cause .
That said I still love the place but its changing but then again in this world nothing stay's the same forever