Thai tourism sector proposes 300-baht tax to counter over-tourism

[candide]

No problem. Just spend 300 baht less everyday in tourism oriented businesses: choose cheaper rooms, cheaper meals, less drinks.... 😃

[Kerryd]

Pathetic.
Remember when they took the 750 Baht "Departure tax" and hid it in the cost of airline tickets (the airline charges you the tax as a part of the ticket price and remits the money to the gov't).

Then a couple years ago Anutin whined that "foreigners" were skipping out on their hospital bills and they (the hospitals) had lost around 300 million baht.

So they proposed a new tax be added to airline tickets to cover those costs. At a time when they were getting nearly 40 million "arrivals" every year.

10 (TEN) baht per ticket would have easily covered that cost. So what did they do ? Decided to levy a THREE HUNDRED baht tax instead. 

So instead of collecting 400 million (to offset the 300 mil in unpaid hospital bills) the gov't want to collect 12 BILLION in new revenue. Gee, I wonder where the surplus 11,700,000,000 baht would go ?

And now they want ANOTHER 300 baht per ticket because they are getting too many tourists ??? Gee, that's another 12 bil in the kitty. I wonder whose pockets that will go into.

I wonder what their Chinese masters will think about that (unless the tax is only applied to tickets NOT coming from mainland China of course).

[Guitar God]

6 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Try and find another way for Thailand to earn/get money and stop relying on frigging Tourism that is destroying the country. Amsterdam have now banned any more new hotels for this reason. 

Amsterdam put a hold on the construction of new hotels primarily because of the disruption caused to the lives of Amsterdammers who live in the centrum, specifically de Wallen, the Red Light District.

The problem is primarily caused by UK tourists who can cheaply and easily pop over for the weekend  (because weed isn't legal in the UK) and get commode-hanging drunk, too high on weed, mushrooms, X or whatever else they were able to find and walk around the RLD yelling and shouting and singing and throwing things in the canals, <deleted>ting and pissing outside, photographing and harassing  the sex workers in the windows.  

I used to live on O.Z. Voorburgwal twenty years ago, right in the middle of the RLD. On the weekends it was busier but in the past decade the streets have become jam packed with drunken sex and drug tourists who either don't know or don't care that they're standing right in front of people's homes, who are trying to sleep at 2 am.
I don't know if they think it's Disneyland or Carnavaal but it's inconsiderate drunks that are causing the problem, not too many tourists.

[impulse]

7 hours ago, Artisi said:

one minute they are thinking up hair-brained schemes to attract tourist and in the next breath they are planning to impose a tax to reduce tourism -- could only happen in Thailand, probably smoking too much weed believing their own weed smoking tourism advertising. 

 

Perhaps they just want to reduce the tourists who would consider $9 a show stopper.

 

[Aussie999]

Hold on... Doesn't the PM, and othets, want an increase in tourists, Thailand is very confusing.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

Every high season they go crazy greedy. Every low season they cry no tourists. Don't worry- give it a month or two and there won't be "over-tourism". What the hell is "over-tourism" in an island that it's entire economy revolves around and depends on tourism? without tourism Phuket is just another island.

 

Don't get me wrong- I'm all for less tourists, they drive up prices and cause the greed meter to go bonkers which hurts us expats too, but imposing yet another stupid tax is just....stupid and greedy.

[Xonax]

Just another "get rich in a hurry" scheme to line the pockets of the already rich tourism operators. 

[daveAustin]

Perfect example of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

 

 We need to get visitors in, tourism is flagging...  "Hey, come in, come in, free visa for all!"

 Too many people coming in, we need to reduce tourists: "No, No, No, pay this or go back!" 

[Freddy42OZ]

11 hours ago, TheFatOne said:

What a joke.

The country doesn't have enough tourists but wants to implement a tax on... over-tourism.

Give me a break....

Tax Thai companies and those corrupted billionaire families of yours.

 

 

 

There are too many low class tourists. They should do what Bhutan does and charge a per day fee. If you want to visit Bhutan, you have to pay US$200 per day for the visa.
 

[TheFatOne]

58 minutes ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

There are too many low class tourists. They should do what Bhutan does and charge a per day fee. If you want to visit Bhutan, you have to pay US$200 per day for the visa.
 

 

Yeah right

[Captain Monday]

2 hours ago, Freddy42OZ said:

 

There are too many low class tourists. They should do what Bhutan does and charge a per day fee. If you want to visit Bhutan, you have to pay US$200 per day for the visa.
 

Just make it 300 baht per day, to include accident insurance. Solves one “problem” 

 

Now, how to keep out the criminal dross？🤔🤔🤔

 

[Lorry]

12 hours ago, jonclark said:

It's the consumer who chooses where they want to go for their holiday. Not Mr. Adith. 

Very wrong.

People go to the destinations pictured in travel brochures and promoted by travel agents (today, both is mostly online, by Google, IG etc).

And it must be cheap. 

 

BTW many tourist come in groups, they chose a package named "Thailand" or whatever and then they are ferried wherever the tour operator brings them. Or do you think a foreigner sits at home, brooding over a world map and thinking "I really, really want to go to Soi Pattanakarn 20"?

They are brought to Pattanakarn 20 by the truckload busload.

 

[kiwikeith]

14 hours ago, Dan O said:

So they want the tourist dollars but not the tourist. The dollars support the failing financial govt plans and the Tourist Industry Sector but the extra people are just a nuisance to deal with. And this is coming from the Federation of Thai Tourist Industry which is the group that promotes tourism. You really can't make this $hit up.

They could sell Pattaya and Phuket to Russia, 

[terryofcrete]

10 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Ok 300 baht but add that to everything else you buy thats maybe imported, certain foods, stay in a 5 star hotel and everything is plus plus, 160 baht for a chang beer ++ 

I know people ,family and included, that would not holiday in Thailand a second time as they like wine and imported wine is a scandalous price due to tax..

[Artisi]

7 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Perhaps they just want to reduce the tourists who would consider $9 a show stopper.

 

That would be far too complex for their thinking. 

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, shackleton said:

Considering what tourists are paying to fly to Thailand 🇹🇭 🤑

300 baht is pretty petty and not going to make a difference on Tourists coming to Thailand 🥳

End of 

Well I don't know....... the past requirement of having to get a Visa on arrival for many nationalities has been cited as holding back tourism, and everyone is deliriously happy with the increased numbers since Visa Exempt was extended to them. That previously cost 2000  baht I believe...... 

300 baht seems rather minor, and can be hidden away in flight ticket costs... although previously the carriers baulked at being unpaid tax collectors and having to racially profile those buying tickets. 

[Scouse123]

The Problem with the current and previous governments is they harp on about quality tourists but they don't provide a quality destination in all its forms.

 

They provide a nickel-and-dime service but want to quote gold-standard dollar pricing structures for everything, it just does not wash.

 

Then to justify silly ill thought out, knee-jerk policies they quote what other countries in the region do whose tourists do not resemble Thailands.

 

Thailand is not Singapore, Bhutan, Vietnam, or Malaysia which attract a very different clientele.

[Dan O]

5 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

They could sell Pattaya and Phuket to Russia, 

They already have 

[scorecard]

20 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

 

Seems, they are believing their own propaganda and fantasy numbers... "We want 80 million tourists", and each one should pay 300 (or why not 3,000?) baht.

 

But hang on, what happened to the long long twisted discussions about all visitors paying a health cover tax to compensate hospitals for unpaid bills. Never happened. 

 

So will this new tax go the same way? Probably.

 

Get some clever capable people into ministerial positions (not drug jailbirds) along with clever focused ethical ministry staff. 

[traveller101]

20 hours ago, transam said:

You have a 6 pound 50p problem too, how much does a tourist pay for one beer in his/her hotel.......😆....?

Some falangis just don't get it ...

[jonclark]

10 hours ago, Lorry said:

Very wrong.

People go to the destinations pictured in travel brochures and promoted by travel agents (today, both is mostly online, by Google, IG etc).

And it must be cheap. 

 

BTW many tourist come in groups, they chose a package named "Thailand" or whatever and then they are ferried wherever the tour operator brings them. Or do you think a foreigner sits at home, brooding over a world map and thinking "I really, really want to go to Soi Pattanakarn 20"?

They are brought to Pattanakarn 20 by the truckload busload.

 

Well if I booked a holiday to Phuket and ended up in Pattanakarn 20 I would have some serious concerns, wouldn't you?  - I think you are talking about Chinese tour groups and zero baht tours? As most Western tourists actually travel independently and not as mass tours. 

 

BTW back in the day when I went around the world - I spent many days looking over a world map deciding where I wanted to go based on my research. But that was before the internet and mobile phones. 

 

I will provide you with Mr Adith number, so he can tell you where your next holiday in Thailand will be if you like? 

 

[radiochaser]

2 hours ago, traveller101 said:

Some falangis just don't get it ...

Aren't falangis an alien race in the Star Trek series?  
Why would they be in Thailand?

[john donson]

tax is tax, whatever excuse...   the real thing is, who will profit from this new SCAM

[MartinBangkok]

On 4/23/2024 at 12:46 PM, transam said:

The last time I had a hotel holiday in Phuket was in 2009, they charged 250bht for a beer and 350bht for a glass of red wine....

And you're worried about a 300bht levy that lasts the length of a holiday in 2024...😁

Transam, since you are ridiculing this, may I suggest to the TAT that they introduce a special tax for you and your likeminded of 3000 Baht per entry? It's like only 8.5 glasses of red wine. Ridicilous to care about, right?

[Lorry]

14 hours ago, jonclark said:

most Western tourists actually travel independently and not as mass tours. 

Many Westerners come as groups, too.

And many of these tours bring you to really exciting places ;)

But I was also talking about independent travelers.  

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

On 4/23/2024 at 5:48 PM, PETERTHEEATER said:

So....let me guess how this is going to work.

You log-on to your resident Thai Embassy website and navigate to the 'No Visa Wanted' section and fill in your personal details.

Check the box next to 'I confirm that I will not be entering Thailand for the purposes of Tourism at any time'

Go to the Payment page and pay the equivalent of ThB 300 in local currency by Pay Pal.

Seems like a fair deal to me......😋

 

Yes, I have said for years:

They would prefer you just send your holiday money but don't come yourself.

[jonclark]

5 hours ago, Lorry said:

Many Westerners come as groups, too.

And many of these tours bring you to really exciting places 😉

But I was also talking about independent travelers.  

So why do independent travellers turn up at Pattanakarn soi 20 en masse as you suggested in your previous post? Confused??? 

 

[transam]

7 hours ago, MartinBangkok said:

Transam, since you are ridiculing this, may I suggest to the TAT that they introduce a special tax for you and your likeminded of 3000 Baht per entry? It's like only 8.5 glasses of red wine. Ridicilous to care about, right?

If you say so............🤭

[KhunLA]

That will really deter people, all of 300 baht.

 

Get rid of the 'visa exempt', and charge 5000 baht per entry / tourist visa, with that, going to support the infrastructure & national parks' upkeep.

 

Tax money directed to where it's needed, and deterring the LoSo tourist from coming, if they really want quality over quantity.

[bamnutsak]

Wow! They went there.

 

An "Anti-Tourism Tax". How "Thai".

 

 

 

 

The excuses for this 300 baht tourist fee have been all over the map in the years since it was advanced.

 

 

Unpaid medical bills

 

Death/injury benefit

 

Health insurance

 

Tourism Development Fund

 

 

Coral reefs

 

 

 

And there is never any detail on how this "fund" will be administered, and if public transparency will be provided.

 

 

A nine billion baht annual slush fund seems ripe for corruption.