Thai government plans Bt450 landing fee for foreign arrivals next year

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to charge each arriving foreign visitor a 450 baht landing fee, expected to take effect in the first quarter of next year.

Natthriya Thaweevong, permanent secretary for tourism and sports, said that the ministry had conducted public hearings about the landing fee charge for 35 days and 80% of the people participating agreed with the rate while others had proposed higher rate.

The ministry expected the landing fee will generate over 8 billion baht in revenue each year, which will be used to improve safety for foreign tourists, such as insurance coverage against accidents and emergencies and improvement to tourism facilities.

The permanent secretary said several methods of the fee collection are being considered, such as adding it to the prices of air tickets, through an application or at the arrival kiosks, adding the way the fee is charged will not cause inconvenience or a burden to the arriving visitors.

Meanwhile, Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), claimed that the measure would not have a significant negative impact on the tourism industry, adding that the European, US and Middle East markets are recovering but, if the conflict in the Middle East drags on further, the number of arrivals may drop by 25-28%.

The Chinese market is expanding by 17-18%, while Indian market is contracting slightly. The TAT has, however, planned promotional activities around the year end to boost tourism in the last quarter, which will, hopefully, increase tourist arrivals for the whole year to 33 million.