Thailand set to start collecting 300 THB tourist fee from June

[crazykopite]

I thought this 300 baht was to cover hospital insurance or from my recollection that was the initial announcement 

[herfiehandbag]

3 hours ago, Bangkocker said:

Who knows - but I thought that would at least pay for medical insurance for tourists. Was I wrong? Wasn't that the plan ? 300 baht X 300 million visitors - that's a sh**load of money.

Indeed, but perhaps, judging by the time it has taken to put in place (unusually for tapping a source of cash), to have attracted the interest of a large number of "sheds" in collecting that "shedload" of money. It will probably have to go a long way and in a lot of directions.

Edited January 12, 2023 by herfiehandbag

[shackleton]

Here we go again 

Who will classed as a tourist take it Thais won't pay 

What about the expat retirees who live here

Can see a can of worms coming up the Airlines  are not going to be happy 

[herfiehandbag]

35 minutes ago, DFPhuket said:

I'd imagine this has been as carefully thought out as last weeks vaccination requirement that was added and then dropped.

My dear chap, "careful","thought out"?

 

We're talking ????????????????????here!

[kwan]

5 hours ago, London Lowf said:

Not necessarily as that would also catch Thais. Before I discovered Thailand I used to got to Turkey - or Türkiye as they have now rebranded themselves - and non-Turks had to queue up at a kiosk to pay an entry fee and get a receipt before going through immigration. I can't remember how much it was but it was much more than B300. I think that quite a lot of countries do this.

Seem to remember it was a crisp 'Tenner'. This I believe was a Tit for Tat against the UK passport holders (and maybe some other countries) as the UK did similar agaist the Turks. The girl I was travelling with got in free on her Australian passport.

[Orinoco]

Mercedes Benz and BMW sales staff, just wet there pants 

[Guderian]

3 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

Will retirees get taxed as well?

Do sheep get shorn for their wool?

[sandyf]

2 hours ago, Stargeezr said:

In Canada, your ticket has a 15 dollar charge, as  an airport improvement fee. Everyone has to pay

this fee. Maybe it should be applied to the ticket. We all know that an airport is not cheap

to be in service.  Everyone who has enough money to travel by air should be able to to pay

what ever fee that has to be applied. IMO

Quite, people should look at the taxes imposed by Heathrow before mouthing off.

But then this forum thinks everything should be done to suit them.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, jabis said:

Yes Thailand also has same charge already - baked into the tickets, 300 baht incoming, 500 baht outgoing - latter was earlier an extra cash fee you had to pay - that was then baked into the ticket prices so that's about 25USD entry and exit fees, now they want to introduce 300 baht more (8 bucks/eur more or less).

Garbage.

[PCUSHING]

1 hour ago, DFPhuket said:

A fee that only applies to certain groups of people (non-Thai, non work permit holders) cannot be added by the airline when the ticket is purchased. I've already purchased a ticket to return to Thailand in June. That only leaves the option of everyone queuing up before or after immigration to pay the fee. They would also need to accept credit cards and other currencies since few people arrive with baht and most ATMs are after customs.

 

I'd imagine this has been as carefully thought out as last weeks vaccination requirement that was added and then dropped.

It's like a brainstorming exercise held in the public gaze.

From the ludicrous 2am bar closing curfew, flip flop on entry requirements and now they want to alienate the global aviation industry.

Prepare for the PM, again, to step in to say this is being binned.

 

[PCUSHING]

19 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Quite, people should look at the taxes imposed by Heathrow before mouthing off.

But then this forum thinks everything should be done to suit them.

What's Heathrow got to do with it?

As usual your input consists of bashing the country that gave you an education and, no doubt, what wealth you have.

People are commenting on the unfeasible implementation of these proposals.

What don't you understand?

[Spilornis]

Air charges included in ticket prices are common everywhere. Charges that have to be paid on arrival or departure (visa on arrival is another example) are just a pain and impact on the visitor experience.

Malaysia has a 10 ringgit per night tourist tax for foreigners at hotels. Has to be paid in cash usually. An absolute nuisance.

If they said they were going to use the money to invest in biometric egates for foreigners I'd be happier

[daveAustin]

3 hours ago, Stargeezr said:

In Canada, your ticket has a 15 dollar charge, as  an airport improvement fee. Everyone has to pay

this fee. Maybe it should be applied to the ticket. We all know that an airport is not cheap

to be in service.  Everyone who has enough money to travel by air should be able to to pay

what ever fee that has to be applied. IMO

All countries have an inbound tax applied to tickets, Thailand included. This is a money-grabbing add-on, they say to help pay the medical bills from all the millions of supposed non-paying sick tourists blah blah. The exempted list should include any long stayer, not just those with work permits. I am not a F tourist. 

[rheinwiese]

2 hours ago, jabis said:

Yes Thailand also has same charge already - baked into the tickets, 300 baht incoming, 500 baht outgoing - latter was earlier an extra cash fee you had to pay - that was then baked into the ticket prices so that's about 25USD entry and exit fees, now they want to introduce 300 baht more (8 bucks/eur more or less).

Since Feb 2007 the international departure tax is 700 Baht (up from 500) for international departures and 100 Baht (up from 50) for domestic departures.

[LikeItHot]

Retirement extension with a paid 300 baht re-entry permit obviously would not be a "tourist" subject to a tourist add on fee right???  Add Thai logic...computing...WRONG! YOU PAY NOW!

[sandyf]

23 minutes ago, PCUSHING said:

People are commenting on the unfeasible implementation of these proposals.

Wrong, people just want to bash anything implemented that they don't like.

[maraudingscot]

4 hours ago, riverhigh said:

I don't think this will go down well with twenty-something group who want to pay everyhing with their mobile phone (Apple pay, Google pay, etc.). I was in Germany when all hell broke loose when a twenty something old tourist was told they only accepted cash. Complete melt down ,, smile.

Wonder how, if they do at all. donate money to charities or give to beggars in the street.

 

Will beggars be required to have contactless payment facilities or a bar/QR code to accept dinations!!!!????

[mjakob007]

2 hours ago, stupidfarang said:

so what happens for western people who live here on retirement ? Do we get charged as tourists?

If we foreigners think charges for westerners & others should not be the same, cant blame Thais for discriminating non-thais. 

 

Can we?

[PCUSHING]

5 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Wrong, people just want to bash anything implemented that they don't like.

Wrong.

People are simply stating that it is impractical to implement a fee based on the exclusion of certain groups.

It's an administrative nightmare either for the airlines or those landing at BKK.

It's a statement of fact not Thai bashing.

[PCUSHING]

25 minutes ago, sandyf said:

This is the list of Tax and Fees from my return flight BKK to Gatwick via Dubai in a couple of months.

Even excluding the fuel, the 300 baht is quite insignificant compared to the taxes for UAE and UK. Currently Thailand charges 800 baht and UAE charge 780 baht just to change a/c.

 

Taxes / Fees / Charges (TFC)
THB70.00-E7(Thailand Advance Passenger Processing Charge)
THB30.00-G8(Thailand International Arrival/Departure Fee)
THB700.00-TS(Thailand Passenger Service Charge)
THB100.00-ZR(UAE Intl Advanced Passenger Info Fee Arrivals & Departures)
THB680.00-F6(UAE Passenger Facilities Charge)
THB12210.00-YQ(Fuel Surcharge)
THB815.00-UB(UK Passenger Service Charge) 
THB3890.00-GB(UK Air Passenger Duty)

555

So?

Now please explain how this would be implemented if you where excluding certain groups?

[webfact]

Tourist Fee to be Imposed in June
by Krajangwit Johjit

 

BANGKOK (NNT) - Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has announced plans to begin collecting a 300-baht fee from foreign tourists arriving in the country starting in June.

 

According to Phiphat, the funds raised from this fee will be used to support visitors involved in accidents and to develop tourist destinations in the country.

 

Minister Phiphat noted, however, that the fee will not be collected from foreigners with work permits and border passes.

 

Thailand expects to see approximately 25 million tourist arrivals this year, a significant increase from the 11.8 million arrivals in 2022. In 2019, the country welcomed a record 40 million arrivals, with over 11 million of them being Chinese.

 

Tourism is a major contributor to the economy of Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, contributing about 12% of its gross domestic product before the pandemic. Tourism spending is forecast to reach at least 2.38 trillion baht this year.

 

The proposal for a tourist fee was first considered in 2020 and is still subject to cabinet approval.

 

Source: https://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG230112102924290

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2022-01-12

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Monthly car subscription with first-class insurance, 24x7 assistance and more in one price - click here to find out more!

 

[jeffriesbkk]

5 hours ago, jcmj said:

I thought the Foreign fee to get into parks would’ve been plenty to upkeep them. We certainly pay way more than the Thais. Also I can almost guarantee that the money won’t be used to help people in accidents. It’ll just line a few more pockets as usual. 

Watch for a spike in Benz and Porsche sales by end of this year. Hi-so Thais like buying luxury condos and villas for their kids. Expect to see a spike there too.

Modern safety standards and a clean environment arent applicable in Thailand.

[gunner1]

wasn't to long ago that the Gov't said that the funds would be used for uninsured tourist, how it is for What? thought that was one of the purposes of dual pricing.

 

[chuang]

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

I'm all for it, if it meant free health care for ALL foreigners whilst in Thailand soil !

Free health care for ALL foreigners who can't afford travel insurance..

[ikke1959]

Didn't Thailand said a few days that tey did not discriminate??? Why always foreigners have to pay more than Thai and Thai are excepted in several cases?? Is that no discrimination?? 

[Nong Khai Man]

3 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

There are so many other countries in the world you can choose to go to instead of coming here, just sayin...

There are so many other countries in the world you can choose to go to instead of coming here, just sayin.......Yeah I WISH I Had 30 Years Ago.....

[Mr Meeseeks]

47 minutes ago, webfact said:

According to Phiphat, the funds raised from this fee will be used to support visitors involved in accidents and to develop tourist destinations in the country.

Honest, guv'nor.

[alex8912]

7 hours ago, London Lowf said:

Not necessarily as that would also catch Thais. Before I discovered Thailand I used to got to Turkey - or Türkiye as they have now rebranded themselves - and non-Turks had to queue up at a kiosk to pay an entry fee and get a receipt before going through immigration. I can't remember how much it was but it was much more than B300. I think that quite a lot of countries do this.

I've been to Turkey maybe 15 times in about 14 years and never had to do this. I'm not Turkish. Last time Two months ago. 

[Peabody]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

... and to develop tourist destinations in the country.

Nice how they slid this in. It was originally announced that it was to cover costs of uninsured. Don't they already allocate billions of baht for this purpose through TATs budget?

 

[BritScot]

6 hours ago, BananaStrong said:

NOBODY is going to turn around and go back home, so I say make it 500 and give everyone a ticket to a jade shop or 20 baht off a massage.    

 

gotta make back that covid-lost money.   I've seen more coffee shops and street vendors lately, and at least they are trying; however, coffee shops are soooooooooooooooooooooo 2000.   but anyhow, it will close in a few months.  Once in Udon I remember getting a real cup of espresso......once in 8 years, yea, that's promising.  

 

OK, I digress.

 

Maybe have everyone buy Thai chips like at a casino for 1,000 a chip and they can use these chips for fun and enjoyable prizes!!!!   touch a drugged tiger, ride a beaten elephant, hold an aids worker, get your back broken from a bad masseuse, die on a train, die on a car, die on a motorbike, die on a bike, die walking.........LOL  LOL

 

 

Very sad but yet very true.