Thailand to collect 400-baht national park entrance fee from foreign visitors

[LukKrueng]

5 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Coming from a country where price discrimination is a criminal offence, this is a bit hard to swallow!

yet you still chose to come and stay here...

[Poppadom]

Went down under with wife last November and paid AUD 12 per car for National park entrance fee!!!

[mikosan]

4 hours ago, catman20 said:

vote with your feet.i will not be going to any national park or beaches. all farangs need to stick together and do the same.

Neither am I.

 

[deepcell]

8 minutes ago, optad said:

She should go visit her counterpart in Japan. They run the most fantastic parks with stunning scenery adn immaculate facilities to promote tourism and designed around bettering the tourist experience. I never paid a yen.

How could you compare Japan with Thailand? Come on!

[simon43]

The DPN classifies adults as people aged 15-59, and children 3-14

 

So what do they classify people over the age of 59?  There should be a discount for older or retired people, Thai and foreigner alike.

[optad]

@deepcell THey do love those junkets abroad. Learning starts somewhere

 

The Japanese even run a special program to maximise foreigner experience.

 

Project to Fully Enjoy National Parks

 

In the 'Issues ' tab the japanese itemise their own weaknesses in an attempt to improve upon them.

Quote

The potential of the national parks has not been fully presented to inbound travelers.

1.Menus that foreign nationals can fully enjoy and comfortable usage environments have not been improved.

2.Inadequacy of spots in the park that will attract foreign nationals.

3.The attractiveness of the national parks of Japan has not been properly conveyed to foreign nationals.

 

http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/enjoy-project/index.html

 

 

[EnlightenedAtheist]

This is --on the face of it-- upsetting to many expats, (and maybe tourists), but let's not forget that an average Thai wanting to visit a Western country will never get a reduced fee and 10 E. or 10 USD or ...  for an average Thai is a lot. You don't think some of them want to travel to Pairs? Now, it is true that some of the wealthiest Thais probably can afford much more than what most of us can and certainly more than a 400 B. entrance fee. In a perfect world, it should be based on a % of income/asset one has, but that would be complicated. I guess that is why we have taxes. If only corporations and all people paid their fair share, this should average itself out, in the grand schemes of things. The system is run by the elite and the powerful. Of course, corporations are paying dividends to share holders and pension entities which is --at the end of the say-- some and --to a limited degree-- all of us, at the end. Of course, there are some companies that have billions in their coffers sitting idle. The banks are not complaining. There are people sitting on corporate boardrooms making millions.The system is run by the elite and the powerful. They set the rules. In reality, this and other people's answer will do nothing to change this. In fact, these forums allow people to vent which is perfect for the elite.

[Benmart]

I avoid places that cheat, provide poor service and are dirty. That covers much and many. Krabi and other inflated lies are off my radar and that of my visiting friends.

[mikosan]

2 minutes ago, Poppadom said:

Went down under with wife last November and paid AUD 12 per car for National park entrance fee!!!

But that is for everyone I imagine.  If you drive up the beach from Noosa to Rainbow you pay a National Park fee.  If you visit Fraser Island you do the same and I imagine it's that way all over Australia, it certainly is at all the places I've been to.  But the point is, they don't charge more for foreigners!

 

[Poppadom]

1 minute ago, mikosan said:

But that is for everyone I imagine.  If you drive up the beach from Noosa to Rainbow you pay a National Park fee.  If you visit Fraser Island you do the same and I imagine it's that way all over Australia, it certainly is at all the places I've been to.  But the point is, they don't charge more for foreigners!

 

That's correct and in absolute comparison it is way cheaper, too!

[LukKrueng]

5 hours ago, ezzra said:

 

This is a country that sees nothing wrong with price and fare gouging it's

tourists, and why should they? they have so many millions of them

coming in every year so much  so that killing the goose that lays the

golden eggs seems the right thing to do.... 

what are you taking about? The numbers of tourist still on the rise so obviously the parks entry fees don't matter to most tourists. It's simple economic thinking. We charge as high as people are willing to pay. Same as any business. And I think most people would realize that if dropping the fees just to get all those complaining here on TVF to visit the parks, the total revenue would still be much less than it is now. So if you owned a park how much would you charge? ??

[boomerangutang]

Too costly.

[Destiny1990]

How about make it free for all the Thais then for the Chinese 80 bht than for the Farangs 120 bht and for all the muslims and jews 500  Bht.Or wait can not that would be racist.

[smew]

Pay 400 baht to experience filth and more filth not from me they will not be getting.

[Shawn0000]

46 minutes ago, toybits said:

I believe it treaty or policy parity.  If foreigners in Thailand are expected to pay 10 times more than locals, then if Thais visit foreign countries - Thais should be ready to pay 10 times more than locals from the country being visited. Fair and square.

 

 

Thai's are charged a higher fee for attractions in many developing countries, sometimes 35 times more, but you wont find this happening in developed countries, the reason being quite simple, the developing countries have a large number of very poor people who are being subsidized by the affluent tourists.  If people could see it for what it was, not a higher charge for foreigners, but a subsidy for local people, perhaps they would not take such issue with it, unfortunately the Thai ministry are rather poor at presenting this, in India, for example, this is made very clear and in my experience tourists  in India are happy to help local people to visit their own attractions that if there was a single price for all could be beyond their means.  

[dundas]

It's pretty simple: they don't have to sell me an entry to a national park, and I don't have to buy. 

 

Especially if I don't perceive any value. 

 

 

[lemonjelly]

By the time the foreign tourists have managed to get to said national park, queued in the heat etc, most are too embarrassed/knackered/bewildered to argue and walk away, and in all honesty, unlikely to visit most of them again anyway whether it was 40 or 400 baht.... very cunning.


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[cocorico2558]

Good, many National Parks have too many visitors!

[au82tiger]

I'll not go!

[Shawn0000]

20 minutes ago, mikosan said:

But that is for everyone I imagine.  If you drive up the beach from Noosa to Rainbow you pay a National Park fee.  If you visit Fraser Island you do the same and I imagine it's that way all over Australia, it certainly is at all the places I've been to.  But the point is, they don't charge more for foreigners!

 

Yes, as I was just saying in my previous post, this is because in developed countries there is not a large proportion of very poor people to subsidize and so everyone is charged the same.

[deepcell]

I do not mind to pay for a fee, if it is fare, since everybody pays the same amount and the money is used for maintenance. but what we see here is racism and corruption. Boycott it all.

[Shawn0000]

1 minute ago, deepcell said:

I do not mind to pay for a fee, if it is fare, since everybody pays the same amount and the money is used for maintenance. but what we see here is racism and corruption. Boycott it all.

 

Fees are always fare, they are synonymous, but I guess you meant fair, anyway the money is not only used for maintenance, the tourist fee is used to offset the local fee, so it is also used to subsidize the poor, something the economic migrants on here just can't grasp.

[champers]

Some context perhaps. A Western visitor is being asked to pay a tenth of his daily income, a Thai probably the same. The disparity between ordinary Thai and Western wages is enormous; 10 fold plus at least. I am from the UK and 400 Baht is less than a tenner. If you think there is no corruption and unfairness in your home countries you need to think again.

[PatOngo]

41 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

yet you still chose to come and stay here...

Cigarettes are much cheaper here! I save a bundle.

[deepcell]

1 minute ago, Shawn0000 said:

 

Fees are always fare, they are synonymous, but I guess you meant fair, anyway the money is not only used for maintenance, the tourist fee is used to offset the local fee, so it is also used to subsidize the poor, something the economic migrants on here just can't grasp.

sorry, I meant fair. well, does it works? All we see is corruption escalating over the years. In theory the system is perfect, the world is beautiful, but in practice it sucks!

[badlad]

i thought after reading the heading that foreign visitors only would be charged 400b and not foreign residents but sure that i must be wrong

[the guest]

17 minutes ago, deepcell said:

I do not mind to pay for a fee, if it is fare, since everybody pays the same amount and the money is used for maintenance. but what we see here is racism and corruption. Boycott it all.

Of course it's racism, but here its totally acceptable to be racist, and the law reflects that attitude. But you choose to still live in Thailand despite this.

[Tchooptip]

One need to translate in Thai every answers on TV and send them to Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, not sure she would not have a heart attack 

[Tchooptip]

 Here are the fees to every Thai national parks in the country for Thais and Farangs  (Sorry absend minded) foreigners 

https://www.thainationalparks.com/posts/new-national-park-entrance-fees-announced

[deepcell]

7 minutes ago, the guest said:

Of course it's racism, but here its totally acceptable to be racist, and the law reflects that attitude. But you choose to still live in Thailand despite this.

Yes, you are right. But I learned it over time. Anyway there is always time to change.