Thailand to Implement 300-Baht Fee for Foreign Arrivals

[oscarsmum]

Applicable at Land borders too?????‍♀️

[Dogmatix]

11 hours ago, 2 is 1 said:

 There was tv show where Oz embassy help they citizen in LOS. What a mess . What i seen that show they should charge 3000 bth tourist from OZ.

Meaning?

[Time Traveller]

10 hours ago, island coconut said:

Exactly! Anyone who bitches about a lousy 300 Baht entry fee can just stay home <deleted>. MANY countries require some form of fee from foreign visitors, in most cases a lot more than 300 Baht.

Show me where the entry to Thailand is "a lousy 300 baht" ?

The cheapest visa is $90, plus mandatory insurance cost, plus the costs of mandatory hotel stay, plus PCR test or Thailand pass.

Then of course there's the 700 baht outgoing passenger fee. And that's per person   

So all up I guess probably not a lot for a single sex tourist travelling to Thailand.  But for families on vacation is soon adds up to quite a lot.

 

Love reading these comments from clowns in the peanut gallery

 

 

[Card]

"Airlines must assist in screening fee-paying tourists before issuing tickets" 

 

Not sure but I guess those who have already paid for tickets will be charged at check in.

[Dogmatix]

14 minutes ago, oscarsmum said:

Applicable at Land borders too?????‍♀️

God question. I guess so. Don’t think they will miss the opportunity to sting land travelers. There is an exemption for workers from MOU countries with WPs. MOU countries are Burma, Laos, Cambodia and virtually all arrive by land.

 

That also seems to imply that people with WPs from other countries will have to pay. No mention of permanent residents who are usually overlooked and classified as tourists in new legislation, eg the COVID travel restrictions in 2020.

 

[madmitch]

It won't be proper insurance; the 300 baht fee would not be enough to cover that. It's more likely a contingency that might help if for some reason the proper insurance doesn't pay or to help hospitals in case foreogn patient can't or won't pay.

 

But the collection system will be a logistical nightmare for airlines, who will have to charge a different fare depending upon nationality and visa status. I don't think think this concept will go down too well with them 

[alyx]

11 hours ago, Letseng said:

When I get to Austria next week I get charged 3€/day tourist tax. I get nothing in return, no insurance or assistance in an emergency. I need insurance to be able to get a Schengen visa.

Why is TH not entitled to do the same?

No you don't.....You get charged when you arrive at a hotel...not when you arrive in Austria .....and this tax is applied to everyone...It pretty works the same in France Italy and Spain

Hence you do not get anything in return as it is to maintain the touristic sites

[Dogmatix]

With the exception of people like undocumented migrant workers and  frequent land border crossers, the fee will be immaterial.

 

What rankles though is the certain knowledge that little or none of this levy will go to helping foreigners in need or developing tourist sites. It will just go into the general pot to be stolen by kleptocrat politicians and ineffective bureaucrats.

[vandeventer]

10 hours ago, mancub said:

Thailand is already doing exactly the same and a 300baht increase in the already payable Passanger Tax is not going to change anything other than lessen the shortfall  in tourist income to the government.

It's not the 300 baht that worries me, it's all these other taxes on tourist that they are dreaming about that does. Please, don't  make it hard on the backpackers as they may be the only ones coming.

[Dogmatix]

8 minutes ago, madmitch said:

It won't be proper insurance; the 300 baht fee would not be enough to cover that. It's more likely a contingency that might help if for some reason the proper insurance doesn't pay or to help hospitals in case foreogn patient can't or won't pay.

 

But the collection system will be a logistical nightmare for airlines, who will have to charge a different fare depending upon nationality and visa status. I don't think think this concept will go down too well with them 

Definitely increases costs for airlines which will be passed on to all travelers to and from Thailand including Thais who are thinking this great because it doesn’t affect them.

[soi3eddie]

1 hour ago, Puccini said:

I have  a feeling that Thailand's Tourism Fee (TTF) is the first time that a passenger fee is to be included in the ticket price based on the traveller's nationality, with a list of exemptions, and it will be interesting to see how ticketing agents can implement this and how check-in staff at airports can transmit the corresponding list of fee-paying passengers within 15 minutes after each flight departure. I can't see this happen.

I bought a ticket with Thai Airways a few days ago for London/Bangkok/London in Aug/Sep. Nowhere on the booking were passport/nationality details asked or even possible to be entered. The IT upgrade and integration with Thailand Tourism Fee will need to be paid for. The airlines will surely pass on those costs in even higher ticket prices too. Lose, lose for us travellers.

 

  

[realfunster]

10 hours ago, tingtong said:

What?

Used for insurance.....while a mandatory insurance policy is in place?

 

 

3 hours ago, Jotho said:

Ooooh insurance, so you gotta purchase insurance for Thailand pass (because there is no way they are taking that off) and then another 300 baht for more insurance.. Yes yes, sounds very good and organised ????

Personally, I am working on the assumption that Thailand Pass and the related mandatory insurance will be phased out in the coming months before this becomes effective in Q3. Having said that, they are related to two separate issues. TP insurance is primarily a response to the risk of COVID medical expenses and the THB300 is a long mooted response to decades of Thailand sucking up general health costs for un-insured tourists. As the tourism industry grew rapidly from 10m pax in 2000 to 40m pax in 2019, I can imagine it's possible that the latter was starting to get 'painful'.

 

[jacko45k]

The cynic in me simply says another big pot of money for uniformed arm, adorned with expensive watches, to reach into. The loose change allowed to tumble to the minions. 

[Skeptic7]

9 hours ago, vinci said:

didn't they use to charge 500-Baht Fee back then, i remember paying 500 baht at the airport but don't remember what for.

It's still collected. Just hidden now (included) in the ticket price. So so soon it'll be B800 roundtrip simply snatched from every traveler, yet providing nothing...except more for the band if thieves in charge.

[Inala]

12 hours ago, 2 is 1 said:

 There was tv show where Oz embassy help they citizen in LOS. What a mess . What i seen that show they should charge 3000 bth tourist from OZ.

Yeah, very funny reality TV show starring mostly 2 week millionaires and their girl problems. Surprising just how many sex starved emasculated Aussie guys get off the plane in BKK on a Friday night, meet a beautiful young brown skinned girl in a Soi Cowboy gogo on Saturday night, in at the Embassy on Monday morning to arrange their marriage cos they're in love ????.  But, he's back a couple months later, alone of course, trying to get the Au Embassy's help in locating this girl who conned him into buying a 5m baht house up in Issan and then buggered off with her brother ???? and the house title leaving him broke.... Of course this can happen to the best of us, when you come from the west and have been shouted at and had your nuts squeezed for decades by some wrinkly hag who's ar$e is wider than you are tall, well of course you do lose those nuts over the first girl you meet. Especially when she's 47kg, smooth as silk and 30 years younger than you!  

[TheFishman1]

Did you just call another scam TIT

[ikke1959]

12 hours ago, Letseng said:

When I get to Austria next week I get charged 3€/day tourist tax. I get nothing in return, no insurance or assistance in an emergency. I need insurance to be able to get a Schengen visa.

Why is TH not entitled to do the same?

Is there an entrance fee for a Schengen visa? Indeed you need an insurance... but don't need to pay for another one..as THailand claim gthe money will be used for insurance....

[milesinnz]

12 hours ago, Letseng said:

When I get to Austria next week I get charged 3€/day tourist tax. I get nothing in return, no insurance or assistance in an emergency. I need insurance to be able to get a Schengen visa.

Why is TH not entitled to do the same?

sure, if you are happy to have tourism as 5% of your economy...

[Gottfrid]

7 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Is Chote related to Pinocchio?

No. To clarify. Chote is a real person with a job to do in Thailand. Pinocchio is a fantasy figure made as a wooden doll.

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thailand will begin charging international arrivals a 300-baht tourism fee in the third quarter of this year. The fee will be used to provide benefits such as insurance and emergency assistance to foreign travelers.

Will wait to see if that ever happens...

When the hospital hand you the bill and you say "paid in full" ask Anutin.

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

90% will go into the wrong pockets

90% will go into the correct pockets, the remaining 10% will be lost in the system.

[jerrymahoney]

8 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Will wait to see if that ever happens...

When the hospital hand you the bill and you say "paid in full" ask Anutin.

And the hospital may respond as this is a Travel Policy:

 

* This was a Pre-existing Condition meaning a disease (including complications), symptom or abnormality occurred to the Insured within 12 months before the  trip which is sufficiently significant that the Insured would  seek a diagnosis, care or treatment or a physician would be able to provide diagnosis, care or treatment

 

Sorry. YOU pay.

 

(* Verbiage courtesy AXA Sawadee Thailand)

[IAMHERE]

Thai Tourism; Death by a thousand cuts. This 300 baht gouge would be okay if it were the only one. If Suvarnabhumi is in Bangkok city limits perhaps the new mayor can add an additional few hundred to help the city cope.

 

BTW, this tax will be included in the ticket so as to be invisible; like the exit tax is now days ?

[ezzra]

Happy to pay the 300 just do away with all the hassles of entering Thailand...

 

[RichardColeman]

I've a cunning plan to get more tourists, we'll tax them on arrival.

 

I just hope ALL countries now add 300 baht for ALL travelling Thais

[jacko45k]

Just now, ezzra said:

Happy to pay the 300 just do away with all the hassles of entering Thailand...

 

I am not sure it eliminates them..... at this point it may well simply be another.......

[jonclark]

I wonder how this will work on sites like Skyscanner which are ticket agents...not airlines. 

[zyphodb]

12 hours ago, cyril sneer said:

90% will go into the wrong pockets

100% I'd have thought, theres no accountability whatsoever for stuff like that here...

 

[zzzzz]

4 hours ago, Jotho said:

Ooooh insurance, so you gotta purchase insurance for Thailand pass (because there is no way they are taking that off) and then another 300 baht for more insurance.. Yes yes, sounds very good and organised ????

thailand pass which requires insurance will be gone june `1st

300 baht is nothing compared to airfare, accommodations, food etc etc

although i do not agree with forced extras its not going to bother 95% of travelers one way or the other

[Speedhump]

12 hours ago, poohy said:

So are we free to assume as this fee is used for insurance the later will not be required....thought not

 

Whilst i have No problem in paying a fee, but after living here for 20 odd years you know it will never be used for any such purpose

Like National Insurance contributions in the UK. Same same.