Tourist arrival ‘tax’ postponed, foreign arrivals drop

[chalawaan]

4 hours ago, biggles45 said:

"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!! 

You'll only find transparency in the outfits worn at Nana and Cowboy. 

[chalawaan]

4 hours 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? 

If the excuse is to pay farang hospital bills, then I want to be definitively covered for accidents.

All New Zealand's visitors automatically get free emergency medical including dental. 

I'm not happy paying this on behalf of clowns who get on a bike and void their travel insurance. If this is to cover them, then I want cover too. 

[still kicking]

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

Amazing that for once, Thais and foreigners are treated equally, hopefully that will lead to that in the future foreigners will be 'treated equally' more often.

So no more double pricing?

[ikke1959]

The "smart" thinking of we let the airlines cash the 300 THB is not working, and that is good.. For airlines it is impossible on their websites to publish different prices. If Thailand needs the 300 THB they have to find a way to do it at the airport, but than long queues as a result which is bad for the reputation and also with a lot of confusion for travellers, who maybe stand for nothing in the queue and don't need to pay and than to go to another queue at the immigration and another on at the luggage  claim... 

[chalawaan]

4 hours ago, kinyara said:

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. 

I never tire of reminding everyone how wrecked China is at present. 

Forget the fudged Q1 report in the MSM plenty of very capable China observers, including tapes leaked from China weekly with Citizens in utter despair. Unfinished condos they are forced to pay for without jobs. And that's just one of the many issues they face. 

Few average Zhou's are thinking about the beach in Thailand right now. 

Only the cadres,  and their families can afford trips now. The non CCP aligned middle class are scheming and saving to get the hell out, permanently, at the earliest opportunity, and no to Thailand, to the West! 

Not every Chinese person we see is from the Mainland. 

There's Malaysian, Singaporean, Taiwanese, and everyone else from everywhere else. 

 

[ericthai]

7 hours ago, Brian Hull said:

The whizkids in the Thai bureaucracy must be the World Champion Gold Medal winners for making simple matters complicated. Why don't they just include the 300 baht Tourism Tax into the visa fee, not as a separate item, and nobody would know or care. It's less than US$9. They are real muddle-heads. Prophetic words from "The King and I" musical  "I often have confusion in concluding things that I concluded long ago".

What about tourist that come visa exempt???  How do you get their fee?

[arithai12]

10 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.

This applies (would have applied) to foreign arrivals into Thailand, how many times per year do you fly out and back into Thailand to consider this a fleecing? And about airlines, and airports abroad, perhaps you should read the breakout of your ticket fare and check how many thousands and thousands of baht (not 300) we pay in hidden fees on each ticket.

EXample: Lufthansa. Years ago I used my miles to fly "for free" in business class from Frankfurt to Shanghai and back. Between LH and the airport, they charged me 700 EUR in fees. Now that I call a fleecing.

 

In this case airlines simply stated the obvious, that it's impossible for them to determine which passengers would have to pay. They were certainly not doing that to protect you or me.

[spidermike007]

15 hours ago, lavender19 said:

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

Definitely a fascinating phenomenon. In Mexico, after living there 10 years, you are treated as an honorary Mexican, and the path to a long term visa, or residency, is quite simple. 

 

Certainly not the case here. I think it is largely due to the reality that the government really does not want us here. They tolerate us. That is the extent of it. Not so with most Thai people, from my observations. But, most government workers are highly indoctrinated, by their very toxic employer. 

[Wiggy]

19 hours ago, dinsdale said:

You seemed to have misunderstood my post. I didn't actually address the payment it was about the numbers. Airlines might not know who's who but immigration does so surely a programme could be put in place to share these details and come up with a more accurate number of actual tourists. 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. Border hop probably have to pay at the border.

Fair point about the numbers. I did misread that. But the airlines have already said they can’t differentiate as to who’s who, so the fee being added to the ticket price is a non-starter. Plus, many tourists don’t need a tourist visa per se so paying for it during the visa application won’t work either. 
You’re right that immigration are in the best position to decide who’s a tourist and who isn’t, and that brings us back to the point that if the fee ends up being collected by them then mayhem at borders will ensue. 

[Pouatchee]

21 hours ago, dinsdale said:

I wouldn't hold your breath.

Hmm... kinda difficult to hold someone else's breath... just like holding in someone else's fart I guess...????

[n00dle]

20 hours ago, Lifetraxx said:

The only way for them to treat everyone "equally* is to

A: Charge EVERYONE the 300 bht 

B: Make entry to all parks 100 % free to EVERYONE! 

The steady income from the arrivals would far exceed any national park yearly ncome in just matter of months. 

Why are you talking about national parks in a thread about airport arrival fees for tourists?

 

20 hours ago, markclover said:

Fines only punish the poor.  Make the fine 100 times more for the rich and I will happy pay my share.

thats nice, but what do fines have to do with anything?

[Mr Meeseeks]

19 hours 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.

This. ☝️

[Mr Meeseeks]

13 hours ago, chalawaan said:

If the excuse is to pay farang hospital bills, then I want to be definitively covered for accidents.

All New Zealand's visitors automatically get free emergency medical including dental. 

I'm not happy paying this on behalf of clowns who get on a bike and void their travel insurance. If this is to cover them, then I want cover too. 

C'mon, who are we kidding?

 

Not a single Baht of this money will be used to pay foreigners' hospital bills. 

[bignok]

21 hours ago, Lifetraxx said:

The only way for them to treat everyone "equally* is to

A: Charge EVERYONE the 300 bht 

B: Make entry to all parks 100 % free to EVERYONE! 

The steady income from the arrivals would far exceed any national park yearly ncome in just matter of months. 

Entry tax 180 baht

Departure tax up 180 baht

Visa exemption 60 days

 

Numbers go up, money goes up.

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

This. ☝️

I'm not sure I understand your post. Are you able to respond with words rather than pictures?

[ravip]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:34 PM, 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.

Strange that so many smart ones are clamouring to settle down in Thailand .

In a country run by idiots idiots? 

LOL  Need to verify who the idiots are,  isn't it? 

[Bangkok Barry]

15 minutes ago, ravip said:

Strange that so many smart ones are clamouring to settle down in Thailand .

They are? News to me. But tell me how smart the person who dreamed up the twice-delayed because it is unworkable tax that is the subject of this thread is. He is an idiot because he was incapable of thinking it through. That is clear for anyone to see. And the same thing happens time after time after time, because those charged with making decisions too often have the mind of a naïve child and can't see past their nose.

 

In the entire history of the world Thais have never invented or produced anything of use to the world. Nothing. Some might cite Red Bull, but it only became popular after it was refined and marketed properly by an Austrian. Thai silk? Rescued from obscurity by an American. and so on. Thais reportedly have an IQ level of 88 (Google it). So no wonder they come out with nonsense so often.

[herfiehandbag]

Why not just pass the collection of cash to the immigration officers at the passport booths.

 

It's hardly likely that they will abuse the right to collect cash off foreigners now is it?

[crouchpeter]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:02 PM, JCauto said:

Where to start with this one? I take it you're with the TAT given that you're talking about the "quality tourists" and think that silly admin fees don't deter people from coming. You may be surprised to discover that 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, not sure what the numbers were in Thailand but as someone who thinks like the TAT you could probably tell me off the top of your head. Is there some Wonder of the World in Thailand that competes with Angkor that I'm not aware of? Couldn't get a hotel room in Luang Prabang, but closed hotels all over the Night Bazaar area in Chiang Mai and discounts galore. Air quality in LP was worse too.

Most meals in Cambodia are peasant food. Sometimes, Siem Reap not bad, and I went to a new sushi restaurant in Pnom Pen, but the waitress had decayed front teeth! Some ok French restaurants in Vientiane and even Leffe beer.

[crouchpeter]

19 hours ago, arithai12 said:

This applies (would have applied) to foreign arrivals into Thailand, how many times per year do you fly out and back into Thailand to consider this a fleecing? And about airlines, and airports abroad, perhaps you should read the breakout of your ticket fare and check how many thousands and thousands of baht (not 300) we pay in hidden fees on each ticket.

EXample: Lufthansa. Years ago I used my miles to fly "for free" in business class from Frankfurt to Shanghai and back. Between LH and the airport, they charged me 700 EUR in fees. Now that I call a fleecing.

 

In this case airlines simply stated the obvious, that it's impossible for them to determine which passengers would have to pay. They were certainly not doing that to protect you or me.

Air Miles don't cover taxes.

[JCauto]

1 hour ago, crouchpeter said:

Most meals in Cambodia are peasant food. Sometimes, Siem Reap not bad, and I went to a new sushi restaurant in Pnom Pen, but the waitress had decayed front teeth! Some ok French restaurants in Vientiane and even Leffe beer.

Really? I guess you have to tell us what you describe as "peasant food", because Phnom Penh is pretty similar to any major city in Asia in that there's quite a wide range of different restaurants and it's really up to you as to what you like to eat. Your inability to spell the city name doesn't speak well of your standing in terms of knowledge. Vientiane is a great city for food, you won't find better value in the region. Superb French, excellent Italian, and at ridiculously low prices. Easiest city to get around in the region too.

[stoutfella]

On 4/19/2023 at 11:55 AM, dinsdale said:

Fair enough but surly immigratin can. Seems like TAT are looking for a way out for their always over inflated predictions. As for the reduction maybe part of that is as many Russians who have already got out of Russia has peaked. Just a thouight.

"Fair enough but surly immigratin can." I don't accept that all the immigration people are surly.

[mania]

On 4/18/2023 at 6:42 PM, 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.

I'm betting the airlines used the word discriminate not differentiate ????  And rightfully so

[Blumpie]

On 4/19/2023 at 12:57 AM, Goat said:

Cambodia has nothing on Thailand as far as higher quaility tourists are concerned. The place is a dump with no infrastructure.

Communist Loas with no beaches will never threaten.

Thailand number one in SEA. Always has been, always will be.

 

Quality tourists are not going to be stopped by this insignificant fee. 

Sorry, this bears repeating.  Amen, amen, amen.  

[sidneybear]

This is an odd claim for airlines to make, as they are used to checking passports and visas at check in and could easily see if someone is a non-Imm, PR or a citizen quite easily. This all looks like deflection - the real culprit for falling arrivals being the airlines themselves, having doubled their prices since Covid.

[ChipButty]

14 minutes ago, sidneybear said:

This is an odd claim for airlines to make, as they are used to checking passports and visas at check in and could easily see if someone is a non-Imm, PR or a citizen quite easily. This all looks like deflection - the real culprit for falling arrivals being the airlines themselves, having doubled their prices since Covid.

It's crazy how it all works, My daughter wanted to book flights from the UK for her and Husband and a baby was 5500 pounds, I told her to check the travel agent TUI, She ended up getting 14 nights in a 5 star hotel in Karon including breakfast and airport transfer for 3500 pounds, with the same airline, 

[ravip]

16 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

They are? News to me. But tell me how smart the person who dreamed up the twice-delayed because it is unworkable tax that is the subject of this thread is. He is an idiot because he was incapable of thinking it through. That is clear for anyone to see. And the same thing happens time after time after time, because those charged with making decisions too often have the mind of a naïve child and can't see past their nose.

 

In the entire history of the world Thais have never invented or produced anything of use to the world. Nothing. Some might cite Red Bull, but it only became popular after it was refined and marketed properly by an Austrian. Thai silk? Rescued from obscurity by an American. and so on. Thais reportedly have an IQ level of 88 (Google it). So no wonder they come out with nonsense so often.

They are? News to me.

One need to check the statistics.

 

In the entire history of the world Thais have never invented or produced anything of use to the world. 

Just a few...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thai_inventions_and_discoveries

 

Yes, with the Internet we have a lot of information at our finger tips. Similarly, there's more disinformation which seems to be more popular and shared widely. We need to separate the wheat from the chaff, which can be quite challenging at times.

 

[CNXBKKMAN]

The existing 700 baht departure/tourist tax has been running smoothly for years. The easiest thing would be to tab the new 300 baht tourist/arrival tax onto existing departure tax setup? Yes it makes an expensive tax and out of line with other asian countries. Pretending its only 300 baht still makes a 1000 baht arrival/departure tax total.  The main problem seems to be how to make thai passport holders exempt from the gauging.

[BarraMarra]

After reading most of these threads it's obvious the TAT and local officials in the tourism sectors are not singing from the same song sheet. According to TAT visitors, numbers are up better than expected yet Phuket's top official has seen a drop in visitors since Feb this year to the tune of 15%. so who is right or who is wrong ?.

It's not rocket science as to why numbers are declining yet little if nothing is being done to improve and welcome more tourists to visit. Instead, they seem hell-bent  to deter visitors such as dreaming up a tourist tax and other silly rules. We meaning visitors can see what is happening and will simply travel to other destinations where we are welcome and happy to spend our hard-earned money. Lets be honest Thailand's Golden Goose has well and trully migrated and took their Golden eggs with them.

 

Barra Marras 5 point plan is simple to lure tourists back.

 

1  Give a tourist a six-month visa.

2 Offer incentives such as Hotel Discounts. Domestic flight discounts.

3 Stop ALL scams and arrest scammers to deter them.

4 Put in place Police that Police, not thieves and bullies.

5 Make the Tourist feel welcome and wanted. 

 

Oh I need another Spliff.

[billd766]

On 4/19/2023 at 2:11 PM, Tom H said:

Computer routine.

Easy to programm.

How many different airlines fly into Thailand and you expect them all to change for TAT?

 

A better idea would be for TAT to scrap the stupid tax.

 

If only one family of 4 cancels then Thailand will lose 1,200 thb PLUS the amount that the family would spend in hotel bills, flights, spending money etc for 2 weeks holiday. Perhaps 10,000 baht per day per family.

 

How many extra 300 baht taxes will be needed to make up for that loss?

 

Thailand might need tourists but tourists don't need Thailand. Tourists are free to choose their destinations.