Thailand Hikes Entrance Fees for Foreign Visitors at Historical Attractions

[Bangkok Barry]

Hello mista! Special price for you sir. Come inside.

[bbko]

I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts half the people here complaining never attended these places even before the price hike. 555.

[Bangkok Barry]

The government - whoever it is - doesn't give a rat's fart about what we think. Never has, never will.

[Yorkshire Tea]

34 minutes ago, newnative said:

      I'm happy to pay extra and it makes perfect sense to me.  Different pricing based on criteria is not unique to Thailand.  If paying 200 baht to enter a national attraction is going to bend me out of shape and ruin my day, I'll stay home.  But, I don't give it a second thought.

Do you offer to pay more when out shopping?

[Lacessit]

I take it on a case-by-case basis. If I think it's too greedy, or not a great attraction, I walk away.

There are plenty of free sights in northern Thailand.

[Road Warrior]

7 hours ago, bob smith said:

What Thai government? ????

sad move and bit silly !!!

[rabas]

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

80% of Thai people don't pay income tax.

Everyone in Thailand pays VAT on purchases.

 

What taxes were you thinking of?

True but tax structure is irrelevant to whether foreigners should contribute to maintenance and operation costs that Thai pay. Anyway, everyone not living deep in the woods pays heaps of unseen embedded taxes, everywhere.

 

My point was that Thailand can easily burden the Thai citizenry for maintenance fees but has no  reasonable way except entrance fees to get foreigners to contribute. I don't see it as unfair.

[SoilSpoil]

48 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Exactly, a forum with a majority narrow minded xenophobes whinging about what goes on in Thailand as though it was unique.

Bit of an insult to claim that at least 50% of the people on this forum are narrow minded xenophobes, don't you think? 

[Mickmouse1]

If I were to help them generate real income ,I will ensure that every person and animal going into or out of the Airport vicinity pays 55 ThB only.

This will be for all including TRAINS,BUSSES,MOTORBIKE ,THE WHOLE LOT 55 only

[cowellandrew]

I just wish we could do this to Thais in the UK !

[Srikcir]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

national identity without adding tourism-related financial pressures on the Thai populace

National identity bolstered by military coups, corruption and authoritarian oligarchial governments - not a problem.

Oy vey - "A man's got to know his limitations."

Tourism financial rewards bolstered by freedom of foreigners - a problem.

[Burma Bill]

Fortunately for me, as a Tourist Police Volunteer for 9 years, I got free entry into parks/museums etc. provided I wore my uniform, carried my ID card and accompanied a Thai TP Officer on a rostered visit. I got to visit many beautiful places, especially in Lanna. 

[newnative]

5 hours ago, MRtommyR said:

It wasn't racist because it was based on residency which is not the same principal as the system in Thailand.

PARK SIGN

Thai Citizens    20 Baht

Visitors that are not Thai citizens    200 Baht

 

Racist?  No.  Nationalistic?  Yes.  If you produce a document at the park entrance that shows you have Thai citizenship and you are still charged 200 baht because you are white, that would be racist.  

PARK SIGN

Thai Citizens    20 Baht

Asians   100 Baht

 Blacks   150 Baht

Whites   200 Baht

 

Racist?   Yes.   

[Sig]

5 hours ago, bristolgeoff said:

The last time i went was the night safari cnx.had a thai license so i paid 50 baht. The farang price 500.So i refuse to enter after that and pay the price they ask.20 baht for thais ten times the price is the farang price so very unfair and thais know and have a private laugh about it

Not sure what kind of Thai friends you have, but every single one of my Thai friends (other than one guy who is a clearly ignorant, uneducated, and untraveled person.) are disgusted by it. Having a private laugh about it would be the last thing any of them would do. It comes down to intelligence and character.
I generally make excuses to not go to those places when my friends want to go because they were always are so irritated by it and ashamed that they ALWAYS offered to pay my entry for me. Actually, a few times they yelled (edit: "yelled" may be a bit of an exaggeration... spoke very sternly with perhaps a bit of an elevated volume) at the workers and refused to let me pay extra and paid for me, the standard price. None of those places had the balls to call the police. I simply stay away from any of those places. I have been to maybe a dozen or so, but haven't gone at all for the past 15 years because of this insane racism. And from my memory, I don't recall a single one being worth an entry fee of even 100 baht. PLENTY of very nice non-racist and even free places to enjoy.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Sig

[recom273]

5 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

I used to live in Orlando FL near Disney World. 

I got drastically reduced rates for season tickets because I lived in the area. 

Was that fair or racist? 

This has been pointed out so many times before.

 

Florida residents are given preferential rates because of deals with local governments, for example, visitors use the roads that local people pay taxes, they may suffer from increased congestion on roads and general inconvenience caused by increased visitors to the area. It's also suggested that local residents tend to visit the parks on a more regular basis, spending money on tickets, food and merch. Neither racist, opportunistic or (un)fair, just marketing and negotiation by local authorities with corporations. 

 

What would be a fairer situation in Thailand would that if you hold a WP, tax card - or did pay tax - that assumes you contributed to the upkeep of these facilities. If you have a pink ID card or a yellow book - A full 5 year drivers license or can produce a passport with a valid extension (bit difficult to expect people to understand the visa system and also, through experience, read English), then you are assumed to be paying VAT on a continued basis - that you get the same price as a Thai. 

 

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

7 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

They cant seem to understand the basics.

Seems to be a problem at all levels here. ????

[fusion58]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Tipanan Sirichana, the government spokesperson, emphasized that the unchanged fees for Thai nationals aim to support education, preserve cultural heritage, and bolster national identity

Because the culture isn’t ethnocentric and xenophobic enough yet. 

[newnative]

2 hours ago, Yorkshire Tea said:

Do you offer to pay more when out shopping?

     No, I don't.  But, I do recognize that different pricing exists all over the world, and it is used for various reasons.  Seniors sometimes get a break on pricing.  Sometimes children do.  Residents of a state often get a break on tuition at state colleges.   And, at state-run facilities, such as state parks.   Apparently, Orlando residents get a price break at Disney.   Should I boycott Disney because of this 'racist', unfair policy against non-Orlandoans?  Thailand's park pricing is based on citizenship.  If you have Thai citizenship, you pay a lower price than non-citizens.  Not a problem for me.   If it is, vote with your feet and walk away.

    

[metisdead]

Some troll posts have been removed.

[fusion58]

2 hours ago, SoilSpoil said:

Bit of an insult to claim that at least 50% of the people on this forum are narrow minded xenophobes, don't you think? 

Not to mention ironic, considering the thread topic.

[kimamey]

11 hours ago, bob smith said:

What Thai government? ????

The squatters

[nowhereman]

The local temple in Lamphun has just introduced an entrance fee of 50 THB for foreigners. Of course you have to be white or black as they can not spot the foreigners of other Asian nationalities. I find it so disheartening that after 20 years of visiting the temple I've just quit visiting it. I think this is a consequence of intentional narrow nationalistic approach to education during last 20 years.   

[SoilSpoil]

6 minutes ago, nowhereman said:

The local temple in Lamphun has just introduced an entrance fee of 50 THB for foreigners. Of course you have to be white or black as they can not spot the foreigners of other Asian nationalities. I find it so disheartening that after 20 years of visiting the temple I've just quit visiting it. I think this is a consequence of intentional narrow nationalistic approach to education during last 20 years.   

Aka greed. Same for that mountain temple in Lampang. 

[Sydebolle]

Vote with your feet.

A beautiful trick is to show up at the ticketing counter. They will prepare the tickets for you, i.e. rip them out of a ticket block and tear them to invalidate them. Then they will tell you, how much.
 

Smile back to the clerk and tell him/her, that you find it too expensive and will not go along. 
 

The invalidated ticket will be more difficult to explain as most would assume that the ticket got sold and the staff kept the money. Works wonders over time while you will have to deal with an extra lecture in Thai swearing ........

Never a dull moment but vote with your feet 

[travelingmike]

7 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

I used to live in Orlando FL near Disney World. 

I got drastically reduced rates for season tickets because I lived in the area. 

Was that fair or racist? 

Probably fair because you pay local taxes and they want to be the good neighbor. Racist ? Did only certain locals depending on skin tone or language get the discount? 

[natway09]

Knew this would rile a few up again or still.

Let me tell you it happens all around the world, 95% chance in your country as well,

certainly the UK, France, Spain, Italy, NZ, Fiji, Indonesia, Sri Lanks, India & Australia, that I know of.

Just that it is called a locals discount

I am very surprised you fellas put up such a kerfuffle over a few measly Bht

 

[Andyfez]

On 7/4/2023 at 10:35 PM, bignok said:

 

 

8 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

I would just observe that I show my 5year Thai Driver’s License stating in Thai that I have lived in Chiang Mai for 12 years. I suppose the girl has some leeway As my Thai Wife and myself usually pay the same Thai price.

I tried that. It didn't work.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Andyfez

[keithkarmann]

Everybody has a choice, to pay or not to pay (this is what a democracy is all about). Personally I will not pay to see pathetic waterfalls after seeing Niagra Falls on a regular basis for free. Also the same goes for pathetic ruins that have fallen into disrepair. And when you have been rejected from one temple, I can't see the point of visiting temples, when you see vast amounts of money spent on the temples and some of the population are struggling to feed themselves.

 

 

[ujayujay]

OK,  milk the cow until she stops milking! Most of the historical and archeological places are neglected, littered and I don't see why I should visit them based on my experience, especially that in most countries in the world there is no entrance fee to pay! I am afraid that the next step will be to charge even more entrance fees for these unspeakable caves! I think those responsible for making such decisions think, foreign visitors are stupid!

[StefanBBK]

17 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

I used to live in Orlando FL near Disney World. 

I got drastically reduced rates for season tickets because I lived in the area. 

Was that fair or racist? 

That was good business! Likely, Disney made more money that way. 

If they would charge everyone 200 Baht and give Thai Nationals a 120 Baht Discount, on presenting a National ID card, I would understand it better. A local discount is OK in my mind. 

 

In current practice prices are applied based on how one looks. We went to a national park and had our foreign maid with us. She was given the Thai price no questions, as she looks Thai. 

 

National Parks, Museum etc. are easily justified for dual pricing, as presumable they are partly maintained from Thai Taxpayers money. What really gets me are commercial enterprises that charge foreigners massive markups. I am known for enjoying a cup of coffee outside whilst my family visits the Aquarium, which by the way was foreign owned.