Tourism fee fund to be fast-tracked after payouts to families in the Siam Paragon mass shooting

[Sydebolle]

So let me get this right:

the Thai government decided to compensate a given amount for something which is

• not the government's fault
• paid with taxpayers money (as the government does not generate own funds)

Now they don't want to pay any more taxpayers money (which was uncalled for in the first place):

• so when a non-Thai is getting killed, the compensation payment is borne by other non-Thais with a landing tax
• Thailand's tourism industry is suffering from decades of:
  • degrading service
  • steadily increased pricing on two different levels and presently has two segments being
    • zero-dollar tourism by the millions by the red brethren in the North and
    • two segments of the Russian tourism cake
      • those who cannot splurge money in Western Europe due to travel sanctions (the fatter cats in Phuket)
      • those who do not want to go to war and resort to be out of Russia for the time being (the poorer lot in Pattaya) 

What kind of excellent weed is presently smoked in all those tourism-related government offices to come up with introducing an arrival/landing tax without any service/product to back up the take? 

[Sydebolle]

Well, it also might replenish the "horn of plenty" when it comes to the election promise of forking out 560 BILLION Thai Baht in digital cash for each and every Thai citizen above 16 years of age. 

So, in essence, the non-Thais, alien or dirty farang (whatever you want to call them) pay for promised vote buying .... or am I getting it wrong all over again? 

[Fairynuff]

I can’t wait to see the revenue figures. Will they be based on reality of say 10m visitors or TAT's fantasy figures of 40m ?

[RafPinto]

Wait:

 

We, the ones who live here were only "aliens".
Now, as they want to tax us, suddenly we are "residents".

 

Now, they want to tax us when travelling and coming back to Thailand. Now we are "tourists".

Get your act together and don't treat us to solve your financial problems.
Scrap first your 10,000 baht payout which makes no sense at all and there is no money to fund this 530 BILLION BAHT adventure.

[Iamloki]

5 hours ago, Gknrd said:

I think I will come in and retire there... I want to deposit 800K in the Thai bank, also I want to visit immigration every three months to let them know where I am. I also want to pay them extra so I can leave the country and come back in . I also want to go threw this process once a year so I can see them and just say hello, Pay them a few thousand extra.  Sounds like the nice thing to do...  Just a shout out to Thailand for making my retirement relaxing , simple and making me feel loved..

 

See ya soon... Thanks Thailand

 

I don't get it... why wouldn't Thailand want to know where foreigners are in their country. The US would have ½ of their immigration issues if they kept tighter tabs of folks overstaying their tourist visas - or simply entering illegally. So let's look at Thailand for a minute:

1. 800K in the bank, or 65K per month income, or a combination of both. In the US, when I brought my wife into the country... I had to prove I could support her, and agree to do so for 10 years. Why shouldn't Thailand want to ensure the people it allows to live here can pay their own way?

2. 90 day check in... 3 minutes online - such a burden. (I think a pc works better than a telephone...)

3. Re-entry permit... nothing is free in any country... crossing the border uses resources that need to be paid by someone. Besides... all borders all over the world (except the US southern border) are profit centers.

4. Annual extension of permission to stay... I have heard the stories, so in some IO it can be a pain... In my own experience, having my TM-7,pictures, lease, passport, and proof of income together and organized - I was in and out of the IO in about 40 or 50 minutes last July.

[mokwit]

They think they can do anything and foreigners will just stand for it. 

[Mike Lister]

11 minutes ago, mokwit said:

They think they can do anything and foreigners will just stand for it. 

They will, at least the vast majority will. What are you going to do, write to your MP/Senator or go demonstrate!

[vivananahuahin]

Is it a joke?

[Walker88]

They're going to solve the problem of long lines at Immigration by creating long lines at the Tourist Tax Kiosks.

 

Voila ! Immigration problem solved.

 

And with 40 million tourists X 300 baht - compensation for 2 deaths at Siam Paragon, the Minister of Sports & Tourism has 11,998,000,000 to play with. I'm thinking gold color Rolls Royce Phantom.

[mokwit]

16 minutes ago, Mike Lister said:

They will, at least the vast majority will. What are you going to do, write to your MP/Senator or go demonstrate!

Tourists have other choices and Thailand is not as attractive as it used to be. The class of tourist that would swim rivers and fight bears to get here doesn't really have anything to do that for anymore.

 

It is not cheap anymore- Thailand was about cheap/value for money INDULGENCE - whether it be the obvious or huge prawns/cheap spas and massages.

[mokwit]

40 minutes ago, Iamloki said:

2. 90 day check in... 3 minutes online - such a burden. (I think a pc works better than a telephone...)

You missed TM30 which many are dependent on a third party providing the documentation now needed for an extension.

[Bim Smith]

Don't cry about lack of tourists then do something as stupid as this. Defies belief 

[madmitch]

I read this story just before going to sleep last night. I thought at the time there would be a lot of interesting comments when I wake up.

 

I wasn't disappointed!

 

I think the main reasons that Thailand doesn't follow a lot of countries and introduce a visible room tax are

1. There are so many unlicensed hotels and Airbnb operations

2. Half of the tax collected would end up in the hotel owners'pockets as they only declare a portion of actual guests. (this happens already with existing room taxes paid to local governments). 

[bendejo]

The solution is always in the check bin, isn't it?

When the going gets tough, the tough collect money.

 

[mancub]

3 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

It what some other countries do, have you seen the airport charges and taxes in countries like the UK!

Of course. but not disguised as something other than, and also payable by nationals of said countries.

[Iamloki]

32 minutes ago, mokwit said:

You missed TM30 which many are dependent on a third party providing the documentation now needed for an extension.

Did the rules change? Or was I just mistaken? In my list I did forget the copy of my landlord's ID and Tabienban...

[mancub]

4 hours ago, KhunLA said:

believe the original thought/purpose was to pay the hospital bill for irresponsible people

Believe that was the original "excuse" 

[ThaiFelix]

"Farang can pay, have money too many!"

[puck2]

I recognize that the Thai government is doing its best to reduce the much needed falangs

• taxing falangs for their money transfers to Thailand - in spite of DTA (Double Tax Agreement)
• lifting the fees for a "tourism-fee-fund ...." as mentioned here in this forum
• the list goes on, emtioned already here

Dear Thai government, you are doing your best to scare them off. ????

[Dogmatix]

8 hours ago, TheFishman1 said:

I guess this new MoneyGram or tax will only apply to foreigners. Amazing, Thailand, TIT.

Yes it is tourist tax not a travellers tax as it used to be.

[Joe Mama]

I would think that the primary financially responsible parties to this horrible tragedy would be the owners of the shopping mall, who are responsible for the security of their shoppers; as well as the parents of the minor who caused all the carnage!  Attempting to associate the financial legal responsibility costs for this event onto Foreign tourists to Thailand doesn't quite compute???

[Dogmatix]

No details of the 30 day insurance tourists are supposed to get in exchange and no projected revenue and costs.  Obviously tourists will get little or no benefit from this and the revenue will disappear into a black hole of incompetence and corruptio.

[Mavideol]

7 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Im more worried about who will control this big pot of money 

no worries, it will be controlled by the same mafia as before.... same car but different driver  555

[No Forwarding Address]

10 hours ago, bendejo said:

So it makes the world news that LOS has experienced a mass shooting.  Such a thing is bad for tourism.  How to solve this problem?  Introduce another tourist fee!  Or did this news tidbit really originate in The Onion ?

 

Mad Magazine.............."What Me Worry??"

[mokwit]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Minister of Tourism and Sports Sudawan Wang-Suphakitkosol, whose ministry this week again put forward the implementation of the longstanding plan to introduce a tourism levy or fee with a new method to pay at airports and entry points using kiosks, a website and smartphone apps.

Don't see "through the nose" as a payment option. Strange, as it is a common way to in Thailand pay these days.

[mokwit]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

a proposal that has been up in the air for decades but has yet to be implemented by successive Thai governments.

...but implemented by this one, along with a reinterpretation of tax on foreign income.

 

 

[NoshowJones]

6 hours ago, bob smith said:

if there were such an Olympic sport as 'shoot yourself in the foot' then Thailand would have a box full of gold medals by now.

 

this country is beyond ridiculous. 

Welcome to The Banana Republic of Thailand with another unelected PM.

[mokwit]

1 hour ago, mokwit said:

Tourists have other choices and Thailand is not as attractive as it used to be. The class of tourist that would swim rivers and fight bears to get here doesn't really have anything to do that for anymore.

 

It is not cheap anymore- Thailand was about cheap/value for money INDULGENCE - whether it be the obvious or huge prawns/cheap spas and massages.

Forgot to mention that if people wanted to go somewhere overrun with Bangladeshis, Russians or Chinese they would go to those countries. 

[Russtler67]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Minister of Tourism and Sports Sudawan Wang-Suphakitkosol, whose ministry this week again put forward the implementation of the longstanding plan to introduce a tourism levy or fee with a new method to pay at airports and entry points using kiosks, a website and smartphone apps. The news comes as the ministry and the Siam Paragon Shopping Centre confirmed compensation payments to the families of the two murdered women in last Tuesday’s mass shooting and those injured.

New foreign tourism levy to be paid on arrival at kiosks at Immigration Bureau points of entry, including at airports after landing. The fee will also be delivered via a website or smartphone app, said the Ministry of Tourism and Sports in the latest update on a proposal that has been up in the air for decades but has yet to be implemented by successive Thai governments.

The Tourism Ministry and the Siam Paragon Shopping Centre came forward this week to compensate the families of the two women murdered during Tuesday’s mass shooting in Bangkok after the government admitted that the Tourism Assistance Fund to compensate tourists involved in emergencies in Thailand had recently been cancelled by officials in an efficiency drive.

 

The Tourism Minister, Ms Sudawan Wang-Suphakitkosol, promised to fast-track the introduction of the long-awaited foreign tourism entry fee, which the ministry now proposes will be paid by travellers on arrival at entry points to the kingdom, providing emergency medical health insurance cover and other benefits for 30 days from the point of entry.

 

by Carla Boonkong & Pranee O' Connor

 

Full story: Thai Examiner.com 2023-10-09

 

- 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.

 

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If it covers medical it’s a step in the right direction. Court of public opinion can’t moan about GoFundMe hard luck stories on one hand and then demonise this, which apparently has “medical” coverage.Let’s see what the “other benefits” are before it’s written off..

[mokwit]

1 hour ago, mokwit said:

Tourists have other choices and Thailand is not as attractive as it used to be. The class of tourist that would swim rivers and fight bears to get here doesn't really have anything to do that for anymore.

 

It is not cheap anymore- Thailand was about cheap/value for money INDULGENCE - whether it be the obvious or huge prawns/cheap spas and massages.

Forgot to mention that if people wanted to go somewhere dominated by Bangladeshis, Russians or Chinese they would go to those countries.