Foreign travelers arriving by air will soon have to pay an entry fee of 300 baht in Thailand - a little more than US$ 8, and this is likely to start on January 1, 2023, report local media.
For the time being, it is not yet known if this tax will also be required of travelers arriving by land or sea, the subject is still under study, says the Thai authorities.
Other areas of vagueness remain, note experts. This foreign tourist tax should thus be used as medical insurance during the stay in Thailand, but the detail of the accidents or diseases taken in charge is not known.
To be continued. The method and the collection system for people arriving by plane are ready to be launched. But in Thailand, tourism professionals have already expressed their concerns about the implementation of this tax. For the airlines, the fees applied to foreign travelers could be considered discriminatory.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is expecting a busy high season this year since the Covid control measures were eased in July. Moreover, the weak baht/US dollar exchange rate is expected to boost tourism.
The TAT predicts a strong improvement in the second half of this year, with around 7.5 million foreign tourists expected in Thailand. If the first half arrivals are added, this year's total would be 9.62 million. Despite this, the TAT is confident that it will be able to push the 2022 total to 10 million.
