National —
The Thai government plans to introduce a “traveling tax” for foreign tourists, planning to submit it to the Cabinet in January 2025 for implementation later in the year.
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National —
The Thai government plans to introduce a “traveling tax” for foreign tourists, planning to submit it to the Cabinet in January 2025 for implementation later in the year. The tax will help fund tourist insurance and improvements to popular travel spots within Thailand, Mr. Sorawong Thienthong, Minister of Tourism and Sports, said.
Mr. Sorawong explained that the traveling tax, initially called the “landing fee”, will be proposed to the Cabinet in January 2025. The tax will take effect six months after being approved by the Cabinet and may only be levied on air passengers in the first phase.
The tax was initially approved during the previous government, but due to the change in government and online criticism and debate, with Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra now serving as Prime Minister, it needs to be resubmitted, Mr. Sorawong said. The tax is proposed to be set at 300 baht for foreign visitors arriving by air and 150 baht for those arriving by land or sea, though the new government may consider implementing a single rate for all types of entry to prevent inequality, the minister said. People who travel the border daily for work from nearby countries and return would be exempt under the proposal and instead get a temporary border pass. (See more below)
The Ministry of Tourism is currently developing an application to collect the tax and opening a bidding process for an insurance company to provide coverage for tourists.
The insurance will cover up to 1 million baht in case of death and up to 500,000 baht for injuries. These funds will be available in addition to any private insurance the tourists may have. The policy will apply to tourists staying in Thailand for no more than 30 days, as 87% of foreign visitors typically stay within this period, Mr. Sorawong said.
The funds collected from the traveling tax will be used partly for the insurance coverage and partly for the maintenance, improvement, and restoration of tourist sites in Thailand, said Sorawong, promising that every single baht would be transparently managed and distributed to alleviate concerns from some critics.
It’s unclear also as this is only a proposal how the money would be collected, with various proposals from service booths at the airports to automatically deducting the fee from plane tickets.
For border traders and others crossing the border for business, the tax will not apply, as they use a border pass for temporary crossings, which exempts them from the traveling tax, Sorawong concluded.
TPN Media notes that this tax has been proposed for many years now and continually debated and discussed between various governments and business sectors. Many tourism business associations have been concerned the tax could hurt tourism and visitors, but the Tourism Authority and multiple governments have continually said it would actually help improve tourist attractions and provide insurance benefits for visitors.
At this time, the proposed tax is just that, still a proposal and not set in stone until further possible approval in 2025, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand is insistent it must take place and plans to continue to press the issue.
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