‘Tourism fee’, now for all travellers to Thailand, ready to launch

[LivingNThailand]

45 minutes ago, Kwaibill said:

You did not actually book anything. I have booked a number of times to USA, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Laos, etc, and before "dropping the hammer" had to supply passport info for myself and my Thai relatives for whom I was also making reservations.

I know I didn't book anything.  I just went to the motions until I got to the Buy Now button.  Didn't ask for my passport or nationality Before I paid.  Just wondering how an airlines can have 2 buy now buttons.  One for the ticket and a second one when it finds out you are not Thai?

In case you missed it:  Here is my second post about booking an airlines.  This was United.  I also tried Asiana to get a mix of US and Asian airlines.  Both the same result.

 

 

Well I checked again and I got to  Buy now without giving them my passport.  

 

So unless the airlines has a second buy now for the additional 300 THB, it isn't going to work.  Imagine buying a 54,000 THB airline  ticket and then going to the next page and the airlines asking for another 300 THB because you are not Thai.

[jacko45k]

5 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Also think for every 300 baht they make off of unsuspecting tourists, they’ll lose on the next one who was going to drop 100k in the kingdom but decides to go elsewhere. 

 

Do you think many who had 100,000 to spend will change their minds over a 300 baht charge? My reasons for a trip to Thailand, after 6 or 7 months in Saudi would not be deterred by that.... or even get me to switch to PI. But it is yet another money grab on the tourist, like the odious foreign ATM charges and inflated parks and attractions charges. 

Edited July 16, 2022 by jacko45k

[BusyB]

18 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I thought it was 500B. In fact I know it was, I paid it often enough.

Yeah I can remember coughing that up a few times - then they hid it in the airfare and hiked it to 700.

[thaibook]

On 7/15/2022 at 1:02 PM, LivingNThailand said:

I just "fake" booked a trip from Bangkok to San Francisco on an  Asian airlines and the website did not ask me my nationality or passport information.  Unless they ask after you give them the credit card information...which I didn't give them, of course.

 

Then I "fake" booked a trip from Bangkok to New York on an US Airlines and the website did not ask me my nationality or passport information.

 

So I don't see how this is going to work.  Either everyone pays the 300 baht or they will have to collect as we are getting off the plane going through immigration.  ????  And I don't think immigration is going to want to do that, maybe.????

The system is not yet up and running.  Once it is passport details will have to be given at booking with no option to do so at checkin.

 

[BusyB]

18 hours ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

This is the international airport tax to pay for the airports. There is also a domestic flight airport fee for less. In past we had to queue up and buy these at the airport until the airlines inc in the price.

 

This has nothing to do with the proposed 300THB tax on incoming foreign tourists to cover accident insurance etc which is what this thread is about. If 300THB just for tourists why get the airline involved at all? Why not just add it onto the cost of a tourist visa and leave the other visa types as they are now?

The problem with a visa based levy is that millions arrive on visa exempt or VOA. That would mean the immi officer having to levy the fee at the land/air border, because that's the only place where it could be checked. 

Obviously they want to avoid that. (And so do I being stood in the queue behind them at Swampy.)

The other alternative would be the airline check it and levy it pre-boarding which obviously they won't do for too many reasons to list here.

The only workable alternative if they really insist on going ahead with this is putting it on the ticket, like they did with the old 500 baht exit fee (which they then hiked to 700 after it was hidden in the airfare).

I'm retired and have my own accident insurance policy which dwarfs this thing. I really don't need it. How would they administer the tens of thousands of applications from people like me for exemption or refund ... for 300 baht?

And on the other hand it is only 300 baht. As long as it actually gets used for what it says on the label I don't really care.

In the end these charges are paltry when compared to even the cheapest airfares and in particular the airport taxes/security charges and airway navigation fees back home. Though at least we know that money goes where it's supposed to. 

 

[mikeymike100]

25 minutes ago, thaibook said:

The system is not yet up and running.  Once it is passport details will have to be given at booking with no option to do so at checkin.

 

Right, on all the flights I have booked, the airline asks for Name on the passport and Nationality.

They need nationally to check if you need a visa or other requirement for the country you are going to.

So cannot just put Thai, because if you did at check-in they would see the anomaly.

[John Drake]

Seems a lot of people have already spent 300 baht worth of their time or more complaining about an insignificant 300 baht tourist fee.

[NoshowJones]

21 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I thought it was 500B. In fact I know it was, I paid it often enough.

Yes it would be about 20 years ago, I first came to Thailand about three weeks after the Twin Towers got blown up.

[LivingNThailand]

3 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Yes it would be about 20 years ago, I first came to Thailand about three weeks after the Twin Towers got blown up.

Wow.  It's been over 20 years.  I had a friend that was at ground zero.  He came up from the subway to go to work just as ........  He was late for work that day and worried about being late.

[geisha]

10 hours ago, HaoleBoy said:

What is the existing "exit" fee that is applied to airline tickets?

Is it for ALL tickets or foreigner tickets only?

Just look at the bottom of your booking and see all the different taxes etc . Then there’s the airport tax added on. I would think that is different to each country the flight/ company lands in.  I haven’t flown lately but I suppose those taxes have sky rocketed due to the fuel crisis and lack of staff etc.

[Antifreeze]

They should waive the re-entry fee for expats. 

[metisdead]

A troll post using profane language has been removed:

 

8. You will not post vulgarities, obscenities or profanities.

[Maestro]

Removed two troll posts and the replies to them.

[Puccini]

13 hours ago, HaoleBoy said:

What is the existing "exit" fee that is applied to airline tickets?

Is it for ALL tickets or foreigner tickets only?

The 700 Baht airport on international flights leaving from Thailand applies to all passengers regardless of nstionality. 

[darrendsd]

On 7/15/2022 at 10:07 AM, John Drake said:

Actually, this sounds okay to me.

500k insurance cover for the price of 300 bath sounds good to me to however this is Thai Visa and you should already know that you are not allowed to say anything positive on here 

[kiwikeith]

On 7/15/2022 at 2:40 PM, Zaphod said:

Since all "foreigners" will be paying this 300 baht fee, will my thai citizen spouse's airfare be 300 baht less than mine??

Shouldn't be a problem for Thai passport holders, its more a problem for airlines, why they can't collect it at the airport is strange as airlines would be taking a cut. 

[pomchop]

11 hours ago, geisha said:

Just look at the bottom of your booking and see all the different taxes etc . Then there’s the airport tax added on. I would think that is different to each country the flight/ company lands in.  I haven’t flown lately but I suppose those taxes have sky rocketed due to the fuel crisis and lack of staff etc.

years ago you had to buy an exit fee ticket from a machine and present it to exit.....maybe they will bring back the machines to sell entrance fee tickets..

 

i would bet that "insurance plan" fine print of excluded coverages has more holes than swiss cheese...

[jacko45k]

16 hours ago, John Drake said:

Seems a lot of people have already spent 300 baht worth of their time or more complaining about an insignificant 300 baht tourist fee.

I am retired, my time comes cheap. Hey many people spend hours looking  for a flight that is 50dollars less, or take the bus from the airport rather than a taxi, or other such economies... (I had one pal who would sit in the airport for many hours after the long flight, waiting for the first bus, rather than pay for a taxi). 

[Mike Teavee]

12 hours ago, darrendsd said:

500k insurance cover for the price of 300 bath sounds good to me to however this is Thai Visa and you should already know that you are not allowed to say anything positive on here 

Yes but me & 100,000s of people who buy  insurance are also chipping in 300 THB towards your 500K cover & that doesn’t sound ok to me.

It’s not the 300 THB (less than 0.3% of the price of the flights) that annoys me, it’s the fact that Bad Behaviour (people not buying insurance & expecting somebody else to pay towards their problem) is being rewarded & Good Behaviour (people taking responsibilities for themselves) is being punished.

 

Either make travel insurance compulsory for everybody or let everybody sort themselves out, don’t ask people to pay a fee because others won’t take responsibility for themselves.

 

[darrendsd]

1 hour ago, Mike Teavee said:

Yes but me & 100,000s of people who buy  insurance are also chipping in 300 THB towards your 500K cover & that doesn’t sound ok to me.

It’s not the 300 THB (less than 0.3% of the price of the flights) that annoys me, it’s the fact that Bad Behaviour (people not buying insurance & expecting somebody else to pay towards their problem) is being rewarded & Good Behaviour (people taking responsibilities for themselves) is being punished.

 

Either make travel insurance compulsory for everybody or let everybody sort themselves out, don’t ask people to pay a fee because others won’t take responsibility for themselves.

 

It's not my cover, I live here and already have insurance

 

 

[tomacht8]

15 hours ago, darrendsd said:

500k insurance cover for the price of 300 bath sounds good to me to however this is Thai Visa and you should already know that you are not allowed to say anything positive on here 

This is only an accident insurance for a maximum of 30 days and does not replace a travel health insurance, which covers much more than just accidents.

 

In the case of double insurance, the question also arises as to whether the foreign travel health insurance companies will then step out of liability in the event of an accident. And then argue that first of all the 500K from the state Thai pot have to be paid.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:40 AM, Zaphod said:

Since all "foreigners" will be paying this 300 baht fee, will my thai citizen spouse's airfare be 300 baht less than mine??

Is your spouse a foreigner in Thailand?...

"The planned 300-baht tourism fee is now expected to apply to all foreigners..." 

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:47 AM, ThailandRyan said:

When you buy a ticket does it ask for nationality? If it does why not put Thai in the drop down box.....i

Great idea, why not risk not being allowed to board the flight?

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/15/2022 at 10:07 AM, John Drake said:

Actually, this sounds okay to me.

C'mon, you're doing that "sensible" thing, this is Thaivisa, it won't go down well with the usual suspects!

Edited July 17, 2022 by Liverpool Lou

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/15/2022 at 10:35 AM, theoldgit said:

It's seems to be only a basic accident insurance, Covid-19 and other types of illness are excluded, and I suspect the "other types of illness" will be the catch all to ensure there's no cover for any illness.

That's why it is referred to as accident insurance, not health insurance, two completely different types of policy.  No one's going to get health insurance for B300!

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/15/2022 at 11:34 AM, sanuk711 said:

So...this will be in affect for Ex-pats as well.  So I am now covered for any accident sickness up to 500,000 baht ....Yes ???....is that just for the year ?  But only for air arrivals -- ??

It's proposed to be accident insurance, not "sickness" insurance.  Accident insurance covers medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident, that's all.   It will be for 30 days cover, as the OP stated and for arrivals by air, as the OP very clearly stated.

[John Drake]

5 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

That's why it is referred to as accident insurance, not health insurance, two completely different types of policy.  No one's going to get health insurance for B300!

Just wish this were applicable to yearly extensions for the same monthly rate. After all, this is one area where retirees are a better risk than younger tourists--accidents. Overall, this does seem a fair policy to employ.

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/15/2022 at 11:40 AM, jvs said:

What about the small letters?

Riding a motorbike?Doing a dangerous sport like walking in a soi and being chased by dogs?

Will this discourage people from buying real travel insurance?

Imaging 20 million people coming to Thailand,you do the math.

A nice little earner i say.

 

It's not "travel" insurance, it's accident insurance in the proposal.

[jvs]

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It's not "travel" insurance, it's accident insurance in the proposal.

Did you see the word"real"?

[Liverpool Lou]

On 7/15/2022 at 12:01 PM, flexomike said:

read the article, good for 30 days several illnesses will be excluded

All illnesses will be excluded, the proposed cover is for accidents, not health/illness.