Thailand finally takes the step to start the tourist fee in June of this year after wandering over the decision that was first thought of in January 2022. A fee of 300 THB (9$ USD) will be applied to all foreign tourists coming to Thailand from June onwards.
This fee is not meant to be for foreigners in Thailand for work or settled there but strictly for those who come as tourists. It is not yet decided how the fee will be paid but it is believed to be added to the flight expenses of the passengers coming to the country.
The gathered fee is solely for the tourists alone and does not really help the country or its people. The Tourism Minister of Thailand says that it will rather be of help for medical accommodation of the tourists who end up in accidents or serious injuries while in Thailand, and secondly for the development of the tourist spots they visit.
It was decided earlier that out of every 300 THB that a tourist pays, 50 THB will go into the medical field whereas, the remaining 250 baht will go into the tourism field. Though, more details regarding the processing have not really been disclosed.
A similar plan was brought forth by the country, where it was necessary for tourists to have travel insurance along with them. It was later dismissed in July 2022.
Before Covid-19, Thailand was a country with one of the highest tourism rates as it had over 40 million visitors in 2019. In 2020, it dramatically decreased to just 6.7 million, and even worse in 2021 when only 427,000 international tourists visited Thailand. This loss of numbers was a huge problem for the country because it had 4 million workers in the field of tourism. A lot of things started to seem unattainable which were once not much of a headache to them.
When in 2022, the number of international tourists reached 11.8 million, it was only fair that Thailand worried about their situation and acted upon this plan.
Other things like banning tourism for several years were also given thought by the country’s government. But this year, the tourism minister believes around 25 million international tourists hence, they can see the hope of getting the losses recovered in order to maintain the tourism field.
Another rule that Thailand brought to the table was not requiring the vaccination certificate or proof of negative coronavirus tests anymore. Though, travelers from China and India might be required to do so on their way back from Thailand.
TAT Director Santi Sawangchareon mentions: “We are most pleased to continue to be able to welcome all visitors to Thailand without proof of vaccination or a negative ATK or PT-PCR test result”.
Lastly, the government also announced that passengers under the age of 18 will still need to show their vaccination certificate which was vaccinated within the duration of the prior 6 months before their travel.
Below is the notice regarding public health measures for foreign travelers entering Thailand from the Department of Disease Control (DDC):
