Domestic tourism stimulus: 3,000 baht gift card and possible "cashback" for Thais may start in July

[Don Mega]

14 minutes ago, newnative said:

   Not true.  The vouchers are for Thai citizens, correct, but Thailand's tourism agency has partnered with Thai Visa to start the Expat Explore program that has been offering discounts to expats for trips to various areas of Thailand.  There are usually a couple of them featured on every Thai Visa news report I get in my email.  

Yep, some forums peeps here complaining should explore the forum !!

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/forum/242-expat-explore-travel-save-in-thailand/

[Almer]

21 hours ago, abrahamzvi said:

Can you tell us why this is racist? Isn't it normal as the government is doing this to encourage INTERNAL(DOMESTIC) tourism?

I wouldn't say racist but short sighted, i like others are itching to go away for a few days so a voucher would encourage me to travel and spend, and its the spend that is crucial, many thais will take advantage but not spend to the same extent as an expat.

[djayz]

On 6/9/2020 at 10:06 AM, BigBadGeordie said:

Yeah, terrible racist policy, a government using its own financial resources, either from taxes or loans, to support their nationals and rebuild the economy!

Dastardly indeed!

As a long time resident AND tax payer here, I see no reason why people like me should be excluded. Honestly, I don't need or care about 3k, but it's the fact that again foreigners who have made Thailand their home, live here legally, have visas and work permits, pay taxes, abide by the law, etc. are simply ignored. 

I know of no country in the West where such a promotion could be publicised without an uproar from those immigrants who reside there legally and full-time. 

 

[Saint Nick]

...but there was not enough money, to pay THB 5.000 for the jobless and hungry?

Got it!

[Trujillo]

"...it never entered my mind that I, as a foreigner, would be eligible for a Thai government handout."

 

First, this isn't really about the money, it's about the discrimination against those who have made Thailand their home. We pay taxes, own homes, contribute to society, in some ways more than some Thai people.  And so on. 

And perhaps you were not aware, there are many foreigners who live here who are not wealthy at all. I have met quite a few (Brits mostly, for some reason), who are living a meager existence, barely making it on their pensions. 

 

I think the idea here is that the Thai government overlooks foreigners (and in many cases "begrudgingly puts up with them") who live here as "outsiders." It seems a more progressive mindset would be aiming to be more inclusive. 

 

Foreigners here do make some effort to integrate into society, in the main. We often try to learn the language, follow the customs and abide by the laws. We do not form gangs or societies that promote racist attitudes and we rarely cause any trouble. Not only that, but we do spend money here, not only on travel domestically, but in all the daily life activities one would expect of a citizen of the country. 

 

To me, it's an issue of fairness. 

In my home country, having two-tier pricing -- one for locals and one for foreigners -- would be unthinkable. But here it's considered a reasonable shake-down of the "rich farang." There are many Thais that have far more money than any farang here will ever have, and a temple visit for them is free, everywhere. Not so for the "dirty farang."

A sorry state of affairs. 

[ujayujay]

On 6/9/2020 at 8:40 AM, Wiggy said:

Another racist policy. Thanks.

You dont have an idea whats racism, am I right?

[djayz]

40 minutes ago, Saint Nick said:

...but there was not enough money, to pay THB 5.000 for the jobless and hungry?

Got it!

Apparently the farmers are also still waiting as there is no money for them (or so I've been told).

Lots of money for Rolex watches and submarines though. LOL. 

[tomauasia]

You should not ever consider running for office. Dinasour racist ideas keep a country in reverse gear. Thailand will go broke if these Muppets keep going with let's keep Thailand to ourselves policy. Starve the poor out lol. Rubbish initiatives by unqualified goons 

[tomauasia]

4 minutes ago, djayz said:

Apparently the farmers are also still waiting as there is no monTrickedey for them (or so I've been told).

Lots of money for Rolex watches and submarines though. LOL. 

Tricked and Fd LTD..

[Don Mega]

59 minutes ago, djayz said:

As a long time resident AND tax payer here, I see no reason why people like me should be excluded. Honestly, I don't need or care about 3k, but it's the fact that again foreigners who have made Thailand their home, live here legally, have visas and work permits, pay taxes, abide by the law, etc. are simply ignored. 

I know of no country in the West where such a promotion could be publicised without an uproar from those immigrants who reside there legally and full-time. 

 

Become a citizen and you won't  be excluded which begs the question, as a long time resident why are you NOT a citizen?

[djayz]

1 minute ago, Don Mega said:

Become a citizen and you won't  be excluded which begs the question, as a long time resident why are you NOT a citizen?

Why would I want to become a citizen? 

[elgenon]

Yes it is racist. Thais get a discount to travel and possibly get the virus. Expats should have the same opportunity to get the virus.

My friend is an executive with BoT who can work from anywhere in Thailand. She said she won't travel. She thinks it's safer at home.

[tomauasia]

3 hours ago, Don Mega said:

Become a citizen and you won't  be excluded which begs the question, as a long time resident why are you NOT a citizen?

They make it near impossible as you already know 

[GAZZPA]

9 hours ago, Matzzon said:

No, you said:

 

Anyway, being a local is considered to be a citizen, while being a resident can´t. A non-citizen can never be a local. There is your answer. If it´s over what you can melt or grasp that´s one thing. It´s still the reason why they not give you a check of 3k baht.

Fairly sure you will survive without it. Probably just felt the need to complain over Thailand a bit. You know, the country you have been living in for so long.

It seems clear to me that it is you who cannot grasp the question. Your sarcasm and attempt to try and talk down to me is just sad and pointless. You still have not grasped or attempted to answer the real question.

 

You are talking like a politician justifying their decision to exclude people. Almost every single foreigner in Thailand who is based themselves permanently in Thailand is not a citizen, they are still citizens of their home countries. In short, you become part of society when you live there, citizen or not.

 

So, try and understand and answer the question,, why would you exclude the people who are living in Thailand and contributing to society from the scheme? For example the retirees or expat workers. I am not asking you to define or explain the difference between a native born Thai and a foreigner or the definition of local being citizen (which I disagree with by the way),, the question, one more time is WHY would you exclude people who were not Thai but living in Thailand? Lets see if you can answer that sensibly..

[Matzzon]

1 hour ago, GAZZPA said:

It seems clear to me that it is you who cannot grasp the question. Your sarcasm and attempt to try and talk down to me is just sad and pointless. You still have not grasped or attempted to answer the real question.

 

You are talking like a politician justifying their decision to exclude people. Almost every single foreigner in Thailand who is based themselves permanently in Thailand is not a citizen, they are still citizens of their home countries. In short, you become part of society when you live there, citizen or not.

 

So, try and understand and answer the question,, why would you exclude the people who are living in Thailand and contributing to society from the scheme? For example the retirees or expat workers. I am not asking you to define or explain the difference between a native born Thai and a foreigner or the definition of local being citizen (which I disagree with by the way),, the question, one more time is WHY would you exclude people who were not Thai but living in Thailand? Lets see if you can answer that sensibly..

Yep, and I have answered you question. Sorry, but it you that have a clear problem grasping. If you do not think that my answer is sensible, due to you feeling entitled to something you do not have the right to, is fine by me. It´s you opinion. What you have done is to ask for an answer on why this offer excludes people who are not citizens of Thailand. It´s simple. The answer is still that the Thai government wants to give all their citizens a better chance to travel around. people that comes from outside and are not Thai citizens are not eligible for that offer. Same as you are not eligible for the 5k baht handout from the same government. They are helping their people. It´s that simple and nothing of that is racist. Just get over yourself regarding self-entitlement. That´s your answer on why and the plain answer is that it´s an offer meant and created for citizens of Thailand. End of story.

[GAZZPA]

6 hours ago, Don Mega said:

Become a citizen and you won't  be excluded which begs the question, as a long time resident why are you NOT a citizen?

i dont think many people apply for Thai citizenship do they? I don't recall meeting anyone who has done that. I don't think it is easy and why would you? 

 

I am not an expert in this so happy to be proved wrong. I think the main issue is why did Thailand decive to exclude all the people living in Thailand that are not Thai by birth,, a policy that makes no sense to me as they are trying to promote tourism and spending.

[Don Mega]

34 minutes ago, GAZZPA said:

i dont think many people apply for Thai citizenship do they? I don't recall meeting anyone who has done that. I don't think it is easy and why would you? 

 

 

Whilst I live here permanently and have done for many years I have no desire to embark on the task of becoming a citizen, the other thing I dont do is cry on a forum asking why has the Thai government  excluded me from their program to boost domestic tourism

[GAZZPA]

4 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Whilst I live here permanently and have done for many years I have no desire to embark on the task of becoming a citizen, the other thing I dont do is cry on a forum asking why has the Thai government  excluded me from their program to boost domestic tourism

i think most people are in the same boat as you.. I am not crying about anything, I just don't understand their decision to exclude people living in Thailand who are not Thai when the promotion is all about boosting tourism which benefits everyone. It seems to make more sense to me to promote to domestic tourism to everyone living in Thailand no matter where they are from. 

[Don Mega]

3 minutes ago, GAZZPA said:

i think most people are in the same boat as you.. I am not crying about anything, I just don't understand their decision to exclude people living in Thailand who are not Thai when the promotion is all about boosting tourism which benefits everyone. It seems to make more sense to me to promote to domestic tourism to everyone living in Thailand no matter where they are from. 

Still not seeing the issue to be honest unless there is a clause in this promotion that my Thai missus and family are not eligible due to an association with an alien.... Cause I will take advantage and have her book and pay for the hotels !!

[GAZZPA]

7 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Still not seeing the issue to be honest unless there is a clause in this promotion that my Thai missus and family are not eligible due to an association with an alien.... Cause I will take advantage and have her book and pay for the hotels !!

Fair enough. but remember there are many foreigners living in Thailand that are not married to a Thai lady. I won't lose sleep over this, just don't understand the reason why they would make such a decision. Either promote domestic tourism for people living in Thailand or don't, I think excluding everyone who is not Thai with such a large expat community is not sensible. Anyway, enjoy your day...

[Trujillo]

"The answer is because it´s not the Thai governments job to help non-citizens economically."

 

I agree with the Gazz; it's not about finances, it's an incentive to get people out traveling and reinvigorate the domestic tourism business. We are here already and are willing to take advantage of the incentive. But it seems it's not offered to us, even though we could be helping out local businesses. 

 

I think the issue with the government is that while we think we are somewhat important here, to them we don't even register on their radar. There is absolutely no domestic policy in Thailand that takes into account the minority "long-stay" foreigner as part of the whole "Thailand community." 

 

I find Don Mega's reply amusing. Using his Thai woman as a crutch is laudably weak; I suppose she translates everything for you, tells you what the menus say, makes the calls for all the daily life issues -- arranging for anything that a Thai speaker would do as a matter of course. 

"I don't care if it's racist of not; I have my straw man here to game the system. How cool is that?"

 

 

[metisdead]

Some off topic bickering posts and replies have been removed:

 

• The question is "WHY" exclude people in Thailand that are not Thai?

 

The answer is in the opening post of this topic:

 

Domestic tourism stimulus: 3,000 baht gift card and possible "cashback" for Thais may start in July

 

<Snip>

 

 

The treasury also wants to see a "cashback" scheme where Thai domestic tourists who pay more than 3,000 baht for their trips are eligible to get between 10% and 20% back on their expenditure. 

 

[GAZZPA]

11 hours ago, djayz said:

As a long time resident AND tax payer here, I see no reason why people like me should be excluded. Honestly, I don't need or care about 3k, but it's the fact that again foreigners who have made Thailand their home, live here legally, have visas and work permits, pay taxes, abide by the law, etc. are simply ignored. 

I know of no country in the West where such a promotion could be publicised without an uproar from those immigrants who reside there legally and full-time. 

 

Absolutely correct. This policy is intended to boost the Domestic tourist trade, why shouldn't the foreigners who live in Thailand and contribute to society be included in the incentive? I have asked this comment but they have all failed to give a reasonable reason, mostly just quoting the point that foreigners do not have citizenship.. Anyway, I am with you on this.

[Trujillo]

On a tangent, via Twitter of Richard Barrow. Sign at Wat Po in Bangkok. No racism here, right? 

 

 

 

[Matzzon]

8 hours ago, Trujillo said:

On a tangent, via Twitter of Richard Barrow. Sign at Wat Po in Bangkok. No racism here, right? 

 

 

 

No, it´s no racism. The only thing they are doing is protecting their own citizens as good as possible and as good as they know how to.

After that you can discuss if it´s done with common sense or if it really have any positive effect. Anyway, that is a totally different story. It makes me sick that tjis forum can accept members that as soon as they get a chance has to attack Thailand.

 

Disgusting!