Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has announced plans to begin collecting a 300 THB fee from foreign tourists arriving in the country starting in June.
Bangkok (NNT/VNA) – Thailand’s Tourismand Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has announced plans to begincollecting a 300 THB fee from foreign tourists arriving in the country startingin June.
According to Phiphat, the funds raised from thisfee will be used to support visitors involved in accidents and to developtourist destinations in the country.
Minister Phiphat noted, however, that the fee willnot be collected from foreigners with work permits and border passes.
Thailand expects to see approximately 25 milliontourist arrivals this year, a significant increase from the 11.8 millionarrivals in 2022. In 2019, the country welcomed a record 40 million arrivals,with over 11 million of them being Chinese.
Tourism is a major contributor to the economy of Thailand,Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, contributing about 12% of its grossdomestic product before the pandemic. Tourism spending is forecast to reach atleast 2.38 trillion THB this year.
The proposal for a tourist fee was firstconsidered in 2020 and is still subject to cabinet approval./.
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