Tourism Thailand Vows to End Dual Pricing Amid Growing Tourist Backlash

[richard_smith237]

5 minutes ago, Lorry said:

You are right that double-pricing in Thailand is not nationality- based. 

It's race-based, as the example of the Filipino in Wat Phra Kaeo beautifully shows.  Been there,  done that.  And many Filipinos, Laotians,  Southern Chinese etc know this.

 

BTW it cuts 2 ways.  A farang of caucasian race has many advantages here,  whereas a Swede, born to Thai parents, has a hard time convincing anybody that he is a farang. 

 

This has been discussed on TV roughly twice per year,  for the last 20 years. 

 

My point of debate is that the 'dual pricing' is based on Nationality and that practice is distasteful when compared to two tiered pricing based on residency employed by businesses in many other nations.

 

Some Thai's may, understandingly, mistake nationals of neighbouring countries for local Thai's in a display of naivety or ignorance rather than any racial preference (my wife gets mistaken all the time).

 

I don't see the 'Dual Pricing' as its exercised in Thailand as racist, I see it simply as Nationalistic.

 

I do not see and have never read any sensible argument that 'justifies' dual pricing in its current guise in Thailand as there are many residents who more than 'pay their way here' so I have never seen any valid argument that supports this 'nationalistic' approach, none that does not come across as xenophobic.

 

I'm reluctant to use the word racist, because I dont think a nationalistic approach is racist - and the racist word gets thrown around way too much without just cause enough already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

13 minutes ago, MikeN said:

And what about other, privately owned places that are not funded by taxes ? and of course, many Thais don't pay any income tax, my wife has never paid any so does she pay the surcharge ? In fact, I once read that tourists on a 2 week vacation here pay more tax through VAT than most Thais do in a year. VAT on their hotel, all the airport taxes, they eat at restaurants that charge VAT unlike locals eating at their favourite noodle shop. Going on a tour? there will be VAT on that. Buying souvenirs? more VAT.

 

Tourists just get 'shafted'.....   and it's an unfortunate but common feature of tourism worldwide. The reality is that tourists are routinely subjected to surcharges at every tourist destination, across every country, in every town, city, and village. It's a pattern that's hard to escape.

 

This trend isn't unique to any particular place - tourists face higher fees everywhere, from Thailand to the UK, France, the USA, Colombia, the UAE, and beyond. It’s simply part of the tourism industry.

 

However, the justification for such pricing practices has long been framed as not an inflated cost for tourists, but rather a discounted rate for local residents. And to be fair, there’s logic in this approach, as it allows locals to enjoy their own attractions at a more affordable price.

 

But.... if that is the intention, then the "local discount" should be accessible to all residents - anyone who can prove they live in the area. Anything less is a hollow justification that smacks of greed and, at worst, xenophobia.

 

In the end, it’s a matter of fairness and transparency and I still have never seen any intelligent argument supporting dual pricing based on nationality as it occurs in Thailand that cannot be picked apart.

 

... I have never seen any example of Two Tier pricing in other Western Nations that is not based on residency.

 

 

 

[FruitPudding]

Sea Life got me the other day!

 

Took my (Thai) daughter and her friend. Last time I went I booked the tickets there in person showing my driver license and got the Thai price, but this time my daughter's friend booked her ticket online so we did the same 

 

When booking online I thought there would be a dual price option. There wasn't. I was pleasantly surprised. I bought the tickets (I couldn't remember the Thai price I paid years ago) and they were a bit pricey. Anyway, whatever..

 

Then, my daughter's friend told us what she paid online: it was half price. 

 

I thought "I wonder what happens if I change the language to Thai on Sea Life's website?"  🤔 

 

Well, of course, different prices appear if you go through the website in Thai language.

 

Their sneakiness is truly applaudable. 👏 

 

 

[Sydebolle]

Road 2331 in Petchabun is a pristine example and, officially, listed as a public road. 

Now knowing more I drove up that lovely road until I reached a "National Park" shack to the right of the road. There they wanted THB 20 for my Thai child and THB 500 from me; official with tickets and everything. I pretended to take out my wallet which made the staff in the shack to rip off a "Farang" and a "Thai" ticket and then immediately invalidating the tickets by tearing them apart. Once that was done I put my wallet back and said that I changed my mind and shall take another road as I disagree with this heavy two-tier policy based on race. 

I've never heard worse Thai words for a Farang and was surprised, what else they have in store for all those who are not semi-divine. I wonder how this guy explained that to his supervisor for having torn tickets without money but, in all fairness, this really should stop. Having paid taxes here for 40+ years this rampant racism gets on even my nerves. 

If they would let Thais pass without any hinderance and collection of anything (as they are the tax payers) while all non-Thais would pay a nominal entry fee, it would have never ever sparked any such discussions and is the way it is done all over Europe. 

[ZigM]

Err, sorry, but the double pricing-standard is pure and simple discrimination and racism. I have two Thai children. One of them looks very Asian and the other more like an Italian. When we went to the palace some years ago, there was the "farang" line and the "Thai" line. My wife and children entered via the Thai line while I lined up at the foreigner line. A dude in uniform instructed my son, purely based on his looks, to get into the farang line. When my son (who was 9 years old at the time) walked toward me, my wife yelled at him to get back into the Thai line. When the uniformed dude instructed my son not to go back into the Thai line, my wife gave the uniformed dude a well-deserved verbal beating. The uniformed dude obviously made the decision to direct my son into the wrong line purely based on his looks. If those that comment don't know the difference between discrimination and racism, inform yourselves. Whether its a national park or a retail shop, market or service, wanting to charge me more based on my nationality is discrimination. Treating people differently because of their race is racism.

 

Once Thais move into the 21st century and understand basic concepts of human rights, decency etc, then they may be able to deal with this dual pricing system. But for now, it's all about money. Farangs are a source of money and we are treated as such. None of the Thai people that I know in west world want to return to Thailand. I wonder why?

[Kinok Farang]

15 hours ago, greeneking said:

The minimum wage would be much higher if the 'deserving good people' and the 'undeserving serfs' mentality disappeared.

And if the rich people paid their taxes. 

No it wouldn't. TIT.

[barrybike]

The same pricing should be for everyone , Thailand should be no exception to this   If Thai people were charged double in other countries when on their holidays thet would no like it either , I used to question my wife on this over the years and she always said sure you don’t pay tax in Thailand that’s why entry to national parks etc are more for us foreigners compared to Thais , Thailand should move with the times & treat everyone the same regarding pricing 

[Kinok Farang]

15 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

No... It does not happen in the same context... 

 

You are referring to resident discounts...

 

... i.e...  Disney World where 'residents of Orlando' will get a discount - and that is for local residents no matter their nationtality (they could be Thai or Mexican - its doesn't matter if they can prove local residency)

 

...  UK Student Fees - UK rate is for any UK resident for at least 3 years, of for someone any nationality (they could be Thai or Mexican - its doesn't matter if they can prove UK residency for 3 years).

 

... Golf Course - local resident discounts - for any local resident, regardless of nationality (they could be Thai or Mexican - its doesn't matter if they can prove local residency).

 

... and on and on... 

 

ALL over the world as you put it - 'two tiered pricing' which offers discounted rates, does so for groups of local residents, certain age groups, students etc...  and none of that is based on nationality at all...   

 

In ALL examples of such 'discount' anyone of any nationality who meets the 'resident, age, student etc' requirements can get the discount - the sole qualifying factor is never nationality alone.

 

 

 

Excellent and very informative reply but what I was alluding to was dual pricing at grass root level.I’ve lived in Spain and whenever my friends or family visited me they always paid more for their drinks in my local bars and more for groceries in the local market.The same as I do when I visit my Sister and her husband in Portugal.It’s the way of the world and like I said “ no big deal”.

[newnative]

32 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

(Shorter quote for brevity) - Pick one....  Any example where Dual Pricing on Nationality ALONE exists in the Western World.

 

Your 'college tuition' example can already be picked a part... its based on local residency.

 

 

    All your arguments regarding western dual pricing being fair, while Thailand's in many cases are not, are based on someone establishing local residency to avoid the dual pricing.  A foreign college student could become a local resident.  Yes, they could.  In Pennsylvania, though, for example, that takes a full year.  So, the first year the foreign student is studying, he or she is paying the foreign nationality rate--dual pricing by nationality.

    A foreign national in this country and a foreign national in that country could become a local resident, you say.   Of course they could--and, as I keep saying, that's a whole separate issue.   The fact that some countries offer eventual local residency to get around dual pricing does not erase the fact that they have dual pricing in the first place.  

     The subject of the thread is dual pricing and tourist  backlash, not local resident backlash.  I fully-understand that local foreign residents in Thailand, and thereby not tourists, in many cases must pay foreign tourist prices, without the opportunity to become local residents, which is unlike many western countries where they have the opportunity to eventually become local residents and secure local  resident pricing.   What Thailand does with its local residency laws and with its dual pricing, though, is also a separate  issue from dual pricing elsewhere.  

    I've given plenty of examples of western dual pricing initially by nationality alone but you asked for another one in your above post, so here is one below.   You'll note that Switzerland, Norway, and some other non-Euro nationalities are singled out to get the reduced entrance fees, while other nationalities, such as the USA and Thailand, are left out.  So, Swiss national, reduced rate, USA national, not reduced rate.  That's dual pricing based on nationality alone, and with the added distinction of some non-EU nationalities being favored over other non-EU nationalities.   The reason Swiss nationals and the selected other countries are given the reduced fee makes sense to me, by the way.  I'm just pointing it out as an example of western dual pricing solely by nationality.  The example: 

 

Many Italian museums offer reduced entrance fees to citizens of Switzerland, often along with other non-EU countries. Specifically, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan are examples of museums that provide reduced rates for Swiss nationals, along with other non-EU countries like Norway and Liechtenstein. 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SABloke]

On 5/1/2025 at 4:04 PM, impulse said:

That would be a shame, because I support dual pricing. 

 

If everyone had to pay the foreign price, the places would be almost empty, and they couldn't afford to maintain the resource to a standard that western tourists demand.  If everyone paid the Thai price, the places would be packed and still they couldn't afford to maintain the resource to a high standard.

 

It's about overhead absorption and incremental business.

 

That said, there have been a time or two that I passed on a National Park because I was only planning to drive through and check it out for a short time, so the 400 baht wasn't worth it.  But I've gladly paid that when I planned to spend some time. Same with some of the tourist traps in Bangkok itself.  Aquarium comes to mind. 

 

Edit:  But they should give foreigner kids the Thai price.

 

 

I disagree - the dual pricing for foreigners hardly makes a difference. Also, with a Thai DL and/or WP most private companies will give you the local price. Interestingly though, I once visited Bang Pa-In palace (operated by the BRH) and they wouldn't give me the local price (go figure). However, they did publish their income lat the entrance which I appreciated - on the day that I visited the figures for Thais to date was 30 million and foreigners 900 thousand - had the foreigners been charged the local price, it would have been 300 thousand (hardly a big dent in the overall scheme of things). I would assume that similar trends would be noticed at national parks if they published the figures i.e. most income is feom Thais.

[richard_smith237]

5 hours ago, newnative said:

I've given plenty of examples of western dual pricing initially by nationality alone but you asked for another one in your above post, so here is one below.   

 

The examples you provided were all based on resident - none based solely on nationality.

 

5 hours ago, newnative said:

You'll note that Switzerland, Norway, and some other non-Euro nationalities are singled out to get the reduced entrance fees, while other nationalities, such as the USA and Thailand, are left out.  So, Swiss national, reduced rate, USA national, not reduced rate.  That's dual pricing based on nationality alone, and with the added distinction of some non-EU nationalities being favored over other non-EU nationalities.   

 

No its not - its based on residency. A Thai could live as a resident in any of those countries you listed and obtain the EU price, thats why its NOT based on Nationality but on residency.

 

5 hours ago, newnative said:

The reason Swiss nationals and the selected other countries are given the reduced fee makes sense to me, by the way.  I'm just pointing it out as an example of western dual pricing solely by nationality.  The example: 

 

It makes sense to me too, but you should first understand the details of what you point out before presenting them as an argument - Even in your examples, you still miss the point that a national of any country can become a resident in those countries and obtain the 'reduced fees' based on their residency.

The discounted rates are not based solely on nationality when a foreign resident can secure the same discount.

 

5 hours ago, newnative said:

Many Italian museums offer reduced entrance fees to citizens of Switzerland, often along with other non-EU countries. Specifically, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the Pinacoteca di Brera in Milan are examples of museums that provide reduced rates for Swiss nationals, along with other non-EU countries like Norway and Liechtenstein. 

 

Again... based on Residency, not nationality - Any resident of Switzerland, no matter their nationality will get the same discount - they only have to show proof of local residency - a driving license, a residence card etc.

 

Dual Pricing based on Nationality means - someone ONLY of that Nationality can secure the better price, it doesn't matter if someone of a another nationality is a resident, pays taxes, has a driving license, local bills etc... they wont get the better price because they are not 'citizens' and being a 'citizen' is the only qualifier... 

 

No Western country behaves like this - but Thailand does, and thats the crux of the criticism against 'state sponsored' dual pricing in thailand - Its based on Nationality Alone and that can be considered xenophobic. 

[Cardano]

On 5/2/2025 at 6:41 PM, newnative said:

If you're feeling 'exploited' I suggest you vote with your pocketbook and avoid places with dual pricing.  

I most certainly do!

[Cardano]

On 5/2/2025 at 6:38 PM, newnative said:

      I think you're just getting tangled up in semantics.  It's two different prices, whatever you want to call one of them.  However you slice it, one person is paying "X" amount based on certain criteria and another person is paying "Y" amount, also based on certain criteria.  That's dual pricing.   And, if you add a third person paying "Z" amount, that's triple pricing.  And so on.  

Either you're pedantic and just want the last word or it's obviously too much for you to comprehend there's a difference between the two

[DjSilver08]

Dual pricing is part of the scamming Thai culture. I don't think it would ever end. Especially not as long as Thailand is a 3rd world country. 

[kwilco]

On 5/1/2025 at 2:06 AM, daveAustin said:

Will never happen. National parks etc. Next!

I bet you can't explain why with evidence.

[kwilco]

7 minutes ago, DjSilver08 said:

Dual pricing is part of the scamming Thai culture. I don't think it would ever end. Especially not as long as Thailand is a 3rd world country. 

It is neither - that's just your own prejudice and misinformation

[kwilco]

On 5/2/2025 at 12:41 PM, newnative said:

If you're feeling 'exploited' I suggest you vote with your pocketbook and avoid places with dual pricing.  

THat's already happening - it is what the minister's meeting was about.

[thaimacky]

What was the phone number again where I can report taxi drivers who refuse to turn on the taxi meter?

[Funkymover]

only taken 30 years

[kwilco]

On 5/2/2025 at 9:50 AM, greeneking said:

Would this be a good time to question why Ko Samet is designated as a National Park anyway? Rip off.

Not really - I think you’re doing a chicken and egg thing – Samet has been part of a national park since 1981 – It’s part of The Khao Laem Ya – Mu Ko Samet National Park Breakdown:
It is made up of Koh Samet (the main island), Khao Laem Ya the headland on the mainland (good beach camping) and all the other smaller islands nearby - Ko Kudee, Ko Kruai, Ko Kham, Ko Plai Tin, and Ko Talu.
Only 80% of Koh Samet is part of the national park and is subject to conservation regulations, while a small portion is designated for tourism infrastructure and community use. There has of course been encroachment as the island has become more popular. I first stayed there in 1994 – there were no roads – only a large bulldozer and no substantial piers.
It has for decades been popular with visitors from BKK before any foreigners turns up and this is why it was designated a national park – for a long time it was forbidden to stay overnight on the island.

[kwilco]

21 minutes ago, thaimacky said:

What was the phone number again where I can report taxi drivers who refuse to turn on the taxi meter?

1584. = that number has been available since about 2011. 

Before than it was local authorities or  the TAT and Tourist police

[kwilco]

On 5/1/2025 at 9:04 AM, impulse said:

That would be a shame, because I support dual pricing. 

 

If everyone had to pay the foreign price, the places would be almost empty, and they couldn't afford to maintain the resource to a standard that western tourists demand.  If everyone paid the Thai price, the places would be packed and still they couldn't afford to maintain the resource to a high standard.

 

It's about overhead absorption and incremental business.

 

That said, there have been a time or two that I passed on a National Park because I was only planning to drive through and check it out for a short time, so the 400 baht wasn't worth it.  But I've gladly paid that when I planned to spend some time. Same with some of the tourist traps in Bangkok itself.  Aquarium comes to mind. 

 

Edit:  But they should give foreigner kids the Thai price.

 

You don't know how the national parks are funded, do you?

 

[thaimacky]

10 minutes ago, kwilco said:

1584. = that number has been available since about 2011. 

Before than it was local authorities or  the TAT and Tourist police

...then I'm glad this problem has been a thing of the past since 2011.

[barmatt]

About time!

[kwilco]

31 minutes ago, thaimacky said:

...then I'm glad this problem has been a thing of the past since 2011.

I don't think you understand dual pricing at all - it wasn't invented yesterday.