Thailand boosts tourism with free SIM cards and digital privileges for visitors

[webfact]

 

The Welcome Back to Thailand campaign, a collaborative endeavour by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Advanced Info Service (AIS), is ready to roll out. The initiative is designed to attract international tourists by offering them Amazing Thailand SIM cards, bundled with an array of digital privileges and services.

 

As part of the campaign strategy, TAT plans to distribute one million mobile phone SIM cards and exclusive e-voucher privileges from partner organisations. The distribution is set to start on Tuesday, October 17 this year and will go on until March 31, 2027, to all foreign visitors landing in Thailand.

 

The campaign is a strategic move by TAT to stimulate Thai tourism towards the year-end, as stated by Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, TAT’s Deputy Governor for International Marketing in Asia and South Pacific.

The distribution of SIM cards will be managed by TAT’s Asia and South Pacific regional offices, working in collaboration with various international travel agencies, airlines and associations.

 

by Alex Morgan 

Photo courtesy of Tourism Authority of Thailand Newsroom.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-10-13

 

- 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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[BritManToo]

They did this before, they used to hand out free SIMs on the incoming flights in 2009.

Obviously the talk time was extra expensive.

Edited October 13, 2023 by BritManToo

[bamnutsak]

https://www.ais-amazingthailandsim.com/

 

Terms & Conditions 
International call via IDD prefix 00300 starting at 1 baht
Not allow to change main promotion
Not allow to convert Prepaid to Postpaid
Not allow to port out
To maintain the service quality and to offer efficient services to all our users in general, the company reserves the right to manage our network as deemed appropriate. This may be done by reducing the internet speed in case excessive continued data transfer, BitTorrent use, mobile connection sharing by Hotspot, downloading and/or uploading large files, commercial use, or use that may affect other users or the company’s network is detected.
The company reserves the right to change the details without prior notice.

 

 

I think you get 8 GB of data complimentary over some trial period, but having trouble finding details so soon after announcement. Maybe some limited number of call minutes?

[Sigmund]

If they want tourists and quality retirees to come they should immediatly apply the following.

 

1. make visa issues with less paperwork requirements and hassles like the absurd certified copies or triple stamp notorised translations that Consulates abroad are asking

2. stop all those absurd residence certificates that banks and administrations ask on formalities

3. grant a 5 year multiple entry visa to all those who own property on leasehold and give them a fast and simple access to convert their foreigh driver licence and bank account with no hassle or absurd requirements

4, enforce the law and ban dishonest taxi drivers from cheating foreigners on refusing rides or refusing the meter

5, ban dual pricing

6. allow foreigners to own their land for one house and force the land owners who have leased land to sell if the house has been paid for in leasehold

7. sack any police officer trying to get a bribe from a foreigner

8. ban all those absurd TM forns for reporting one's own home or having to report when foreigners come over to stay in one's house

 

9.......of course, none of this will ever happen !!!...so tourism numbers may grow but tourism money will fall as once the toursts are cheated on the first day by a taxi at Bangkok airport, they just won't want to spend their money so freely.

 

[grain]

There seems to be these endless cycles of luring more foreign visitors with gifts and easy visas, then after the foreigners numbers increase, they start making things difficult again and coming up with plans to charge the foreigners extra and bring in extra taxes. 

[retarius]

8 minutes ago, grain said:

There seems to be these endless cycles of luring more foreign visitors with gifts and easy visas, then after the foreigners numbers increase, they start making things difficult again and coming up with plans to charge the foreigners extra and bring in extra taxes. 

I think the lures aren't working. They should learn to tie flies for fly fishing instead.

[Karma80]

20 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

6. allow foreigners to own their land for one house and force the land owners who have leased land to sell if the house has been paid for in leasehold

Go to any place that allows the purchase of land and houses by foreigners and see the impact of Asian money on the local market. Careful of what you wish for.

 

Sims for tourists? Why not. Can't hurt, and anything to increase mobile phone company competition is good.

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Karma80

[Sigmund]

5 minutes ago, Karma80 said:

Go to any place that allows the purchase of land and houses by foreigners and see the impact of Asian money on the local market. Careful of what you wish for.

If only one plot of land with the house is permitted, there is no risk of speculation.

 

It's not like having all the major US institutional or pension funds to buy up and grab all the prime developpments in Bangkok or Phuket,  It's just about fairness in allowing a foreigner on leasehold who has paid for a house,  to own one single plot of land and furthernore, this issue was already on the table of the policy makers.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Sigmund

[JackGats]

Free SIM cards with expensive and lousy data plans!

 

Better buy a non-free SIM card for 10 Baht, then purchase a good on-top package.

[bigt3116]

1 hour ago, Sigmund said:

If they want tourists

 

1 hour ago, Sigmund said:

2. stop all those absurd residence certificates that banks and administrations ask on formalities

 

1 hour ago, Sigmund said:

3. grant a 5 year multiple entry visa to all those who own property on leasehold and give them a fast and simple access to convert their foreigh driver licence and bank account with no hassle or absurd requirements

 

1 hour ago, Sigmund said:

6. allow foreigners to own their land for one house and force the land owners who have leased land to sell if the house has been paid for in leasehold

 

1 hour ago, Sigmund said:

8. ban all those absurd TM forns for reporting one's own home or having to report when foreigners come over to stay in one's house

None of those relate to tourists?

 

And the post is about tourism.

[fondue zoo]

 

 

 

probably

 

[Chris Daley]

The Seven Elevens refuse to top up a True Sim Don Meung airport.  I have been doing this for 8 years so I was kind of confused.  I tried to walk to the True Store and some cop stopped me.  I made it to the True Store and it was run by a rural farmer that couldn't speak a word of English.  Way more complicated than I thought it would be.

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, JackGats said:

Free SIM cards with expensive and lousy data plans!

 

Better buy a non-free SIM card for 10 Baht, then purchase a good on-top package.

NOTHING IS FREE IN THAILAND.....If its free there is a catch.....Sounds like this free card might end up being quite expensive..

[observer90210]

I would have handed out vouchers for free happy-end soapys in the lovely fishbowls ????

[observer90210]

23 minutes ago, Chris Daley said:

The Seven Elevens refuse to top up a True Sim Don Meung airport.  I have been doing this for 8 years so I was kind of confused.  I tried to walk to the True Store and some cop stopped me.  I made it to the True Store and it was run by a rural farmer that couldn't speak a word of English.  Way more complicated than I thought it would be.

Use Google Translate on your phone app....very helpful on a daily basis during interactions with the locals.

Edited October 13, 2023 by observer90210

[JayClay]

1 hour ago, Karma80 said:

Sims for tourists? Why not. Can't hurt, and anything to increase mobile phone company competition is good.

How will this increase competition between mobile phone companies?

[nobodysfriend]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

designed to attract international tourists by offering them Amazing Thailand SIM card

Nice .

They just forget to mention how much a SIM card will cost ...?

Will be just another rip off . Not free , that's for sure .

[JayClay]

16 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

They just forget to mention how much a SIM card will cost ...

It's in the headline

 

16 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

Will be just another rip off . Not free , that's for sur

It's free

[newbee2022]

SIM cards from AIS ???? 

I forgot.... who's the owner?

[khunjeff]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

TAT plans to distribute one million mobile phone SIM cards

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The distribution is set to start on Tuesday, October 17 this year and will go on until March 31, 2027, to all foreign visitors landing in Thailand.

They have one million sim cards to hand out "to all foreign visitors landing in Thailand" over a period of nearly six months. Are they aware that well over one million foreign visitors land in the country every month?

 

Edit: they actually said the distribution will go on until 2027 - so I think they'll need at least a hundred million extra cards...

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by khunjeff

[Bangkok Barry]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

As part of the campaign strategy, TAT plans to distribute one million mobile phone SIM cards and exclusive e-voucher privileges from partner organisations. The distribution is set to start on Tuesday, October 17 this year and will go on until March 31, 2027, to all foreign visitors landing in Thailand.

Maybe someone might like to re-think this statement or article. Only one million cards available for ALL foreign visitors during a 2.5 year period. Really? None of this makes sense - except to a Thai, I suppose.

[Bangkok Barry]

Nothing new in this. The UAE did the same when I went to Dubai at the end of last year.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Bangkok Barry

[fondue zoo]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

TAT plans to distribute one million mobile phone SIM cards

 

What millions of thing is next I wonder?

 

 

 

[Lemsta69]

2 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

The Seven Elevens refuse to top up a True Sim Don Meung airport.  I have been doing this for 8 years so I was kind of confused.  I tried to walk to the True Store and some cop stopped me.  I made it to the True Store and it was run by a rural farmer that couldn't speak a word of English.  Way more complicated than I thought it would be.

Why you not top up via the True iService app? It accepts foreign cards so no issue for tourists like yourself.

[Lemsta69]

13 minutes ago, fondue zoo said:

 

What millions of thing is next I wonder?

 

 

 

A million TINs for all the tax dodgers.

[Clydesdale]

However you will be requires to pay the foreign tourist levy.

[Mike Teavee]

3 hours ago, Chris Daley said:

The Seven Elevens refuse to top up a True Sim Don Meung airport.  I have been doing this for 8 years so I was kind of confused.  I tried to walk to the True Store and some cop stopped me.  I made it to the True Store and it was run by a rural farmer that couldn't speak a word of English.  Way more complicated than I thought it would be.

Can’t you use one of those machines outside most 7-11s (at least in Bangkok) to Top-Up or a site like https://mobiletopup.com/?l=en - used these a few times to Top-Up my AIS SIM, never had a problem.

 

IMG_5313.heic

Edited October 13, 2023 by Mike Teavee

[petedk]

Most people have good roaming deals nowadays, so it isn't necesary to buy a local sim.

 

Would they have to show passport and register the passport number to the sim? 

Maybe this is the "tracking device" that they once wanted all foreigners to have. For their own safety of course!

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The initiative is designed to attract international tourists by offering them Amazing Thailand SIM cards, bundled with an array of digital privileges and services.

Jeez another amazing act.

[007 RED]

46 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

 

They have one million sim cards to hand out "to all foreign visitors landing in Thailand" over a period of nearly six months. Are they aware that well over one million foreign visitors land in the country every month?

 

Edit: they actually said the distribution will go on until 2027 - so I think they'll need at least a hundred million extra cards...

 

Simple.... They (TAT) forgot to mention one very important thing.... In order to get their 'free' SIM card the tourist will have to hand over their passport, sign copies of their biographical page and visa, list where they will be staying (modified TM47) and then provide details of their bank account so that AIS can automatically charge them for any excess calls/data used.

 

So who in the right mind will accept this so called free handout?  Hence the sceptically low numbers of SIMS they have.

 

What's that old saying?  If I remember correctly it goes something like "Nothing in this world is free".

Edited October 13, 2023 by 007 RED