Thailand to introduce 500 baht tourist entry fee from Jan 1st

[webfact]

Picture: Bangkok Business News

 

Every man, woman and child who enters Thailand from January 1st will have to pay 500 baht for the privilege.

 

The money will be a fund to bail out tourism businesses hit by the pandemic. 

 

Bangkok Business News called it a "charge to step onto the land" that is Thailand.

 

Earlier 300 baht was agreed. Now with the pandemic having caused much worse devastation it has been increased after the Centre for the Economic Situation caused by Covid-19 (CES) gave the green light.

 

Thailand's minister for tourism and sports said all the money gained will develop tourism and help businesses affected by Covid. 

 

He did the math in the BBN article saying that 1 million tourists would mean 500 million baht.

 

The cabinet will meet to decide the finer details of who should benefit. 

 

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[tonray]

Yep...That'll bring em in !

[tonray]

Tomorrow's plan: Allow billionaires to use the 500 baht as an offshore tax deduction against their "Pandora" accounts

[new2here]

I’ll say this, rightness or wrongness of the tax aside, so long as it’s rolled into and collected at the time of ticketing (speaking for air tickets of course) then i think the pushback will be minimal and short-lived..: since EVERY fare will automatically adjust upwards by the same amount, no one will be out-of-step as far as pricing goes … and considering that fares can fluctuate by hundreds of dollars, a net change of about US$15 will probably be hard to notice. 

[Boarn]

If this was only for tourists I could stomach it, but if long terms expats have to pay as well that would be yet another spit in the face.

[Blumpie]

I"m not going right now anyways, so no big deal, LOL!  

I know where the money won't be going.  I believe the intended people mentioned won't see .01c of it.  

[RotBenz8888]

  On 10/5/2021 at 1:25 AM, webfact said:

 The cabinet will meet to decide the finer details of who should benefit

 

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I doubt it'll be the ones in most need. 

 

[Emdog]

Similar to paying a bar fine at entrance  before seeing what is available....

[bkkcanuck8]

  On 10/5/2021 at 1:36 AM, Boarn said:

If this was only for tourists I could stomach it, but if long terms expats have to pay as well that would be yet another spit in the face.

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The funny thing is that we see the 700 baht departure tax + the 300 baht entry tax now (total 1000) as something outrageously Thai... but it is quite common for different countries to have these hidden fees that most people never see and never know about... (just the names differ).  Australia has a $45AUD tax for international flights out, Canada has up to a $45 Airport Improvement Fee (depending on airport you exit from),  UK has a fee that ranges from £13 and £194 (depending on class etc.).  If it makes you happy the Thai government could just call it a 1,000baht movement fee like Australia does (and the details of what it is for are buried in the budgets). 

[actonion]

All these  Months with out tourists arriving in Thailand  it  now seems  some  of those  in charge  have been missing out, this is how they're going to make up for it

[tonray]

How many 500 baht tourists per Ferrarri ?

[kotsak]

This follows the TIT logic, when business is down, increase the prices..  ????

[AwwYesNice1]

Like the 500 baht exit tax at Don Muang and all the backpackers who spent all their last baht before hitting that booth (at one time that was me).

[Boarn]

  On 10/5/2021 at 1:45 AM, bkkcanuck8 said:

The funny thing is that we see the 700 baht departure tax + the 300 baht entry tax now (total 1000) as something outrageously Thai... but it is quite common for different countries to have these hidden fees that most people never see and never know about... (just the names differ).  Australia has a $45AUD tax for international flights out, Canada has up to a $45 Airport Improvement Fee (depending on airport you exit from),  UK has a fee that ranges from £13 and £194 (depending on class etc.).  If it makes you happy the Thai government could just call it a 1,000baht movement fee like Australia does (and the details of what it is for are buried in the budgets). 

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In Thailand it seems this new fee is for foreigners only, in other places they are for everyone. 

[canopus1969]

  On 10/5/2021 at 1:36 AM, Boarn said:

If this was only for tourists I could stomach it, but if long terms expats have to pay as well that would be yet another spit in the face.

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and do Thais pay ?

[kelboy]

Well done....

[CNXBKKMAN]

Arrival tax 500 baht. Departure tax 700 baht. Total 1200 baht. I think its too much. 

 

1200 baht is 30.55 euros / 35.46 USD .

[mtls2005]

Interesting that they are quick to define the amount, but are less detailed on the collection procedures, and what the funds will be used for?

 

Massive trough controlled by whom exactly?

 

And we're often told tourists run up unpaid medical bills, so hopefully some will be used to pay those off?

[Bkk Brian]

Gaining traction on some travel websites now also:

 

Thailand’s timing out on welcome tax

BANGKOK, 5 October 2021: The timing is out on Thailand’s announcement that it will impose an additional THB500 fee on foreigners entering the country sometime next year.

Someone has lost touch with the bellwether’s warning that travellers are fed up with the increased costs associated with a visit to Thailand. Yet it is about to add another cost, and it won’t go down well with leisure travellers keen to keep travel expenses down in the wake of Covid-19.

 

Thailand To Impose New Tourist Tax Next Year

The extra capital is also intended to help the country restructure its industry from mass tourism to a high-value economic model and environmentally concerned type of tourism. It’s also meant to help bankroll budget insurance offerings for foreign visitors and other development initiatives run by the government, rather than the private sector.

 

 

 

[ThailandRyan]

  On 10/5/2021 at 1:25 AM, webfact said:

Every man, woman and child who enters Thailand from January 1st will have to pay 500 baht for the privilege

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Does this mean even Thais who reside elsewhere but come back as tourists to visit family?

[smedly]

so they are going to tax tourists to pay for the mess they mostly created themselves 

 

please come to Thailand but we are going to charge you an entry fee lol

[Kadilo]

In the grand scheme of things no one is going to worry about an extra 500 baht to travel. Many countries already charge a fee to enter and some also have a tourist tax added to their stay. 

[smedly]

  On 10/5/2021 at 1:35 AM, new2here said:

I’ll say this, rightness or wrongness of the tax aside, so long as it’s rolled into and collected at the time of ticketing (speaking for air tickets of course) then i think the pushback will be minimal and short-lived..: since EVERY fare will automatically adjust upwards by the same amount, no one will be out-of-step as far as pricing goes … and considering that fares can fluctuate by hundreds of dollars, a net change of about US$15 will probably be hard to notice. 

Expand  

I don't think the fee itself is the issue (we already pay 500b extra on every ticket)  - it is what they claim they will use it for 

 

now if it was going to be used as a collective fund to help distressed tourists who find themselves in medical limbo as suggested on here many times then at least those paying this money have a chance to benefit from it.

[RafPinto]

....And the committee agreed that 499 of the 500Baht will be used towards administration costs.

[Blumpie]

  On 10/5/2021 at 2:14 AM, Kadilo said:

In the grand scheme of things no one is going to worry about an extra 500 baht to travel. Many countries already charge a fee to enter and some also have a tourist tax added to their stay. 

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Whereas it doesn't really affect you, on a grand scale it very much affects the tourism industry.  

 

 

[kevin612]

Oh yea, the senior officials are getting fat.

[bkkcanuck8]

  On 10/5/2021 at 2:11 AM, ThailandRyan said:

Does this mean even Thais who reside elsewhere but come back as tourists to visit family?

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I cannot see the ticket issuers for airlines having the option to collect taxes by nationality...  I expect if you arrive, it will be embedded in the ticket price.

[Kadilo]

  On 10/5/2021 at 2:19 AM, Blumpie said:

Whereas it doesn't really affect you, on a grand scale it very much affects the tourism industry.  

 

 

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Yes in a positive way as “The money will be a fund to bail out tourism businesses hit by the pandemic. “

[bkkcanuck8]

  On 10/5/2021 at 1:56 AM, Boarn said:

In Thailand it seems this new fee is for foreigners only, in other places they are for everyone. 

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This fee will be embedded in the price of an airline ticket.  This fee is for international flights into Thailand and I don't see them indicating it is for foreigners only, not to mention I don't see them being able to get ticket issuers to charge taxes based on nationality.

 

  Quote

Every man, woman and child who enters Thailand from January 1st will have to pay 500 baht for the privilege

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It does not say every foreign man, woman and child entering Thailand.

[Boarn]

  On 10/5/2021 at 2:25 AM, bkkcanuck8 said:

This fee will be embedded in the price of an airline ticket.  This fee is for international flights into Thailand and I don't see them indicating it is for foreigners only, not to mention I don't see them being able to get ticket issuers to charge taxes based on nationality.

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It that's the case then the title is misleading.