Tourist arrival ‘tax’ postponed, foreign arrivals drop

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, dinsdale said:

As for the queues already being long enough the payment will make absolutely no difference as it will be added to airfares or charged when getting a tourist visa if border crossing

And you seem to have misunderstood that the airlines have said they cannot add it to fares as who pays the tax depends on what status the passenger has in Thailand. That is the entire point of the article, which appears to have passed you by. 

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, StayinThailand2much said:

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

OK, then how are they arriving at the tourist numbers at all? Are they pulled out of a hat?

I guess, arrivals minus Thai citizens.

And which arrivals are expats, which are tourists? The tax is supposed to apply to one and not the other.

[Hellfire]

That is a true sensation. Never before the number of tourists in Thailand decreased in March and April. 

[Bangkok Barry]

The problem with these fools is that someone dreams up an idea and, no matter how unworkable or stupid it is, it is announced without thinking it through. And anyone with half a brain who realises it is unworkable or stupid can't say so as the fool who dreamed up the idea will lose face.

 

And that is exactly how Thailand works. Over and over again, with any number of government policies which usually die a death/are subject to a U-turn. Such as every tourist arrival must use a Thai SIM card so they can be tracked. There are plenty more examples. The country is run by idiots.

[Advocatus Diaboli]

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Lethargy, malfeasance, and incompetence and extreme corruption, all have it's price. 

300THB ?

[Toby1947]

Basically the airlines are saying we are not RACIST unlike some others. 

[Letseng]

2 hours ago, bogs smith said:

way to go airlines!!!

 

i'm sick to death of being fleeced (or trying to be fleeced) by this wretched system.

You have a choice ????

[dinsdale]

31 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

And you seem to have misunderstood that the airlines have said they cannot add it to fares as who pays the tax depends on what status the passenger has in Thailand. That is the entire point of the article, which appears to have passed you by. 

Indeed. Just went back for a look. I definetly got a bit muddled up. Cheers. 

[dinsdale]

22 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

The problem with these fools is that someone dreams up an idea and, no matter how unworkable or stupid it is, it is announced without thinking it through. And anyone with half a brain who realises it is unworkable or stupid can't say so as the fool who dreamed up the idea will lose face.

 

And that is exactly how Thailand works. Over and over again, with any number of government policies which usually die a death/are subject to a U-turn. Such as every tourist arrival must use a Thai SIM card so they can be tracked. There are plenty more examples. The country is run by idiots.

I believe there still is an exit tax on flights so why not just increase that for everyone. But your right about the fools. I've been calling these empty headed idiots thought bubble masters for a long long time.

[JCauto]

2 hours ago, kinyara said:

Where did you get the figure of Cambodia getting 16 million tourists over Songkran ?

 

It can't possibly be foreign tourists as Cambodia only managed to attract 6.6 million in total for the whole of 2019.

https://en.vietnamplus.vn/cambodia-serves-over-13-million-tourists-during-traditional-new-year-holidays/251736.vnp

You are correct, that was including domestic tourists as well. Didn't read it carefully enough.

[spidermike007]

58 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

You are not supposed to ask awkward questions. Any Thai knows that almost from birth. You must just accept whatever you are told, like a Thai. Behave yourself!

Awkward for them, maybe. Not for me. They don't want to face truth and reality, it is entirely on them. I will ask away, until I get an answer. Where I come from, truth is not considered something to avoid, or hide from. 

[JCauto]

1 hour ago, nigelforbes said:

You're learning well, have you considered applying for a job with government?

I figured if one of them saw my post they'd recruit me. On tenterhooks, I am.

[biggles45]

"She emphasises that transparency in fund management is crucial for the scheme’s success." 

 

I got a good laugh out of this one. Transparency in Thailand!! 

[bignok]

3 hours ago, JCauto said:

Cambodia and Laos were chockers this Songkran. Seems the tourists are discovering the neighbouring countries finally. 

If I've learned anything about Thai economics, the solution to the reduction in tourist numbers will be to double or triple the entry fee to make up the lost revenue.

They dumped 45 ve. Should have kept it.

[bignok]

34 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

I believe there still is an exit tax on flights so why not just increase that for everyone. But your right about the fools. I've been calling these empty headed idiots thought bubble masters for a long long time.

Departue tax. Bump it up by 200 baht, nobody will notice. Dont even announce it. Just tell the airlines.

 

Put visa exemption back to 45 days full time.

 

More tourists more revenue. 

 

How hard can it be to have sensible policies? 

[dinsdale]

8 minutes ago, bignok said:

Departue tax. Bump it up by 200 baht, nobody will notice. Dont even announce it. Just tell the airlines.

 

Put visa exemption back to 45 days full time.

 

More tourists more revenue. 

 

How hard can it be to have sensible policies? 

Sorry I would love to agree with you but there is one fatal flaw in what you are saying ..... logic and we just can't have that here.

[isaanistical]

3 hours ago, JCauto said:

Cambodia is no longer a war-torn craphole and has quite nice infrastructure all over the place nowadays, and Laos is on the way as well. Cambodia got 16 million tourists over Songkran

True, it's no longer war -torn. The rest, we can argue.

16 million tourists over Songkran? Can we have some sources?

 

[Dialemco]

Thailand has to realise that foreign tourists are a valuable source of income. Immigration does not reflect this as they are very unfriendly and are help bent on extracting even minimal amounts by ridgedly enforcing the rules for which they have discretion for instance I was marched  to a room and fined for an overstay of 8 hours because my flight had be cancelled. No one asked if there was a reason for the overstay just plain unfriendly treated like a criminal

[isaanistical]

Surprising how many posters suggest Immigration should be the arbiters of who should be charged this fee on arrival. You seriously want IOs deciding who should pay them 300 baht? (and what happens when I tell IO I won't pay?)

Don't forget there is already an iniquitous 700 baht "passenger service" charge (from memory, only for air arrivals) that has clearly not been spent on anything remotely like passenger services.

Globally, more and more places are imposing these sh**ty extra charges where they can, just BECAUSE they can. TH certain not to want to be left behind.

[isaanistical]

27 minutes ago, bignok said:

They dumped 45 ve. Should have kept it.

"Tourists" - real tourists - dont stay 45 days.

[isaanistical]

54 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Where I come from, truth is not considered something to avoid, or hide from

from outside the solar system then, obviously? Only kidding... can't recall anywhere fitting this description.

[lavender19]

And for us that have been married to a Thai for years and years. We are still classed as a tourist.

[kinyara]

I've always thought the 300 baht proposal was a typical lazy sledgehammer tax on foreigners to recoup/make up for funds lost from them during the COVID years, and in reality offering nothing in return.

 

I get there is logistical collection issues but I also think for maximum effect its timing was always intended to coincide with when they thought the Chinese millions would return. The problem they seem to have is it appears the Chinese tour group masses seem to be very price sensitive to the continued high price of airfares and aren't as yet significantly returning, ( hence the drop in overall numbers ). Sticking on another fee is not the best idea at the moment and is I think another factor in it being kicked down the road again, even though we may think it's a relatively small amount in the grand scheme of things. 

[Jiggo]

Just call it something else then and tax (everybody) all arrivals.

[Upnotover]

11 minutes ago, lavender19 said:

And for us that have been married to a Thai for years and years. We are still classed as a tourist.

And that's even by our wives.

[Caldera]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

According to the minister, the airlines have stated that they cannot differentiate between foreign tourists, Thais, and expatriates, and therefore, all passengers must be treated equally. The Minister had earlier said that locals and expats with a valid work permit would be exempt from the tax.

I'm not surprised that airlines don't want to be drawn into this. And neither should the Thai officials who cooked up this brilliant scheme be surprised. Fail.

[Kalasin Jo]

Well what a surprise! TIT. Looks like no consultation with airlines before announcing this tax, then giving a date for the start.  Hoping that the airlines would bear the costs of collection and that for tourists it would be hidden amongst all the other add ons to the base ticket price.Then the airlines quite understandably say they can't differentiate. And for expats it's nuanced anyway, only if you are working. The airlines would need to do any differentiation at the point of sale of the ticket requiring special algorithms and uploading of documents I would think. Just for Thailand. Of course it CAN be done but would surely add to costs. 

Meanwhile the powers that be know ( or perhaps not! ) that attempting to charge on arrival would be very upfront, produce chaos, additional delay to clear entry and so very disgruntled arrivals. If those arrivals start posting adverse comments that would be very bad for business.

Thailand could I guess reintroduce the Thailand Pass, requiring pre registration and payment of the tax. It wasn't exactly popular during Covid. Now? I don't think so. The straw that breaks the camels back? Why bother, let's go some else. Costly for the powers that be too to run the system.

[Jaggg88]

Flights are still much higher than pre-Covid so that may be taking its toll on numbers.

I had to pay tourism tax in Rome and Vienna and it was collected by the hotel on check in.

[chalawaan]

The slimy rent seekers could do this very fairly and transparently but it's clearly another "caper" to fleece all non thais, and the airlines see it as such. 

How to do it fairly is all visitors after immigration, pay B300 in any denomination at a government booth, THEN they immediately get a small stamp in their passport which is their HEALTH INSURANCE RECEIPT for the time they are in Thailand.

 

They could also just do it online before arrival. 

 

But don't hold your breath!

[chalawaan]

20 minutes ago, Jaggg88 said:

Flights are still much higher than pre-Covid so that may be taking its toll on numbers.

I had to pay tourism tax in Rome and Vienna and it was collected by the hotel on check in.

That must be new. I didn't in 2017.

I notice Korea and Indonesia now slugging people for serious money, $50 and up, before the flight, even just to transit landside for a hotel sleep.