Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Jan. 12 that Thailand will start charging foreign tourists an “admission fee” of 300 baht ($9) from April, whether they enter the country by air, land or sea.
The fee will be used for two purposes, one is to provide additional funding for the development of local tourist attractions and the other is to provide an insurance plan for tourists.
Thanakorn said the tax will be added to airfare prices, while the method of charge for land or sea entry has yet to be determined. The latter solution could be a special payment app.
He added that the insurance will cover accident and death costs for tourists during their stay in Thailand, including up to 500,000 baht ($15,050) for accident medical expenses and 1 million baht for death.
Thanakorn noted that the fee is expected to generate at least 1.5 billion baht ($45.1 million) this year from an expected 5 million tourists, defending the plan on the grounds that “many other countries” are already imposing such fees.
“Amazing new chapter in Thailand”
Ironically, the move was part of a 2022 promotion by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports under the theme of “Amazing New Chapter in Thailand”, which immediately sparked controversy among tourism groups and other stakeholders, as well as expats.
The plan has been discussed for a long time, but its implementation has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Critics say the country’s tourism outlook for 2022 remains unclear as the pandemic is not over, and the “entrance fee” announcement is ill-timed and sends the wrong signal to potential tourists.
Some tourism and hotel associations have called for a delay or even cancellation of the introduction of “entrance fees” as Thailand’s recovery from the pandemic-induced tourism crunch remains fragile and the country will lose out in stiff competition from other global and regional holiday destinations.
‘Entrance fees’ should be postponed or cancelled,’ tourism stakeholders say
They said it was a more opportune time to enforce the fee when Thailand’s tourism industry returned to 2019 levels after Chinese tourists began to return and global travel resumed normally. In addition, there should be special regulations for tourist groups, frequent travelers and migrant workers.
For their part, expat responses to the scheme were mostly unhappy, noting that – despite the fact that the fees were actually low – tourists were once again “money machines” because, for example, they already paid much more than locals at tourist attractions The price of the long-established two-tier pricing system.
They also point out that tickets with an “admission fee” attached cannot distinguish tourists from those entering the country for other purposes, such as foreign residents or businessmen. It is unclear whether a foreign Thai couple would have to buy separate tickets, one with an “entrance fee” and one without.
Some noted that it was unclear whether arriving tourists would receive the insurance policies they had paid for.
“If Thailand wants to attract more tourists, it should lower its standards and not invent new methods of extortion on top of mandatory health insurance and mandatory hotel quarantine,” complains one expat.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Jan. 12 that Thailand will start charging foreign tourists an “admission fee” of 300 baht ($9) from April, whether they enter the country by air, land or sea. The fee will be used for two purposes, one is to provide additional funding for the development of local tourist attractions and the other is to provide an insurance plan for tourists. Thanakorn said the tax will be added to airfare prices, while the method of charge for land or sea entry has yet to be determined. The latter solution could be a special payment app…
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Jan. 12 that Thailand will start charging foreign tourists an “admission fee” of 300 baht ($9) from April, whether they enter the country by air, land or sea.
The fee will be used for two purposes, one is to provide additional funding for the development of local tourist attractions and the other is to provide an insurance plan for tourists.
Thanakorn said the tax will be added to airfare prices, while the method of charge for land or sea entry has yet to be determined. The latter solution could be a special payment app.
He added that the insurance will cover accident and death costs for tourists during their stay in Thailand, including up to 500,000 baht ($15,050) for accident medical expenses and 1 million baht for death.
Thanakorn noted that the fee is expected to generate at least 1.5 billion baht ($45.1 million) this year from an expected 5 million tourists, defending the plan on the grounds that “many other countries” are already imposing such fees.
“Amazing new chapter in Thailand”
Ironically, the move was part of a 2022 promotion by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports under the theme of “Amazing New Chapter in Thailand”, which immediately sparked controversy among tourism groups and other stakeholders, as well as expats.
The plan has been discussed for a long time, but its implementation has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Critics say the country’s tourism outlook for 2022 remains unclear as the pandemic is not over, and the “entrance fee” announcement is ill-timed and sends the wrong signal to potential tourists.
Some tourism and hotel associations have called for a delay or even cancellation of the introduction of “entrance fees” as Thailand’s recovery from the pandemic-induced tourism crunch remains fragile and the country will lose out in stiff competition from other global and regional holiday destinations.
‘Entrance fees’ should be postponed or cancelled,’ tourism stakeholders say
They said it was a more opportune time to enforce the fee when Thailand’s tourism industry returned to 2019 levels after Chinese tourists began to return and global travel resumed normally. In addition, there should be special regulations for tourist groups, frequent travelers and migrant workers.
For their part, expat responses to the scheme were mostly unhappy, noting that – despite the fact that the fees were actually low – tourists were once again “money machines” because, for example, they already paid much more than locals at tourist attractions The price of the long-established two-tier pricing system.
They also point out that tickets with an “admission fee” attached cannot distinguish tourists from those entering the country for other purposes, such as foreign residents or businessmen. It is unclear whether a foreign Thai couple would have to buy separate tickets, one with an “entrance fee” and one without.
Some noted that it was unclear whether arriving tourists would receive the insurance policies they had paid for.
“If Thailand wants to attract more tourists, it should lower its standards and not invent new methods of extortion on top of mandatory health insurance and mandatory hotel quarantine,” complains one expat.
