Thai state agencies spent at least Bt2.5 billion on 928 overseas study trips between 2016 and 2025, according to the Anti-Corruption Organisation (ACT), raising concerns over public spending priorities. The figure equates to around Bt250 million annually, which ACT says could have funded more than 100 million school lunches. The findings highlight what critics describe as a significant missed opportunity to support children’s welfare. Get today's headlines by email The data was compiled using the ACT Ai system, which searched for projects labelled as “overseas study trips” across a wide range of public institutions. These included Parliament, the courts, constitutionally independent bodies, government agencies, the military, police and local administrative organisations. ACT secretary-general Mana Nimitmongkol said the true number may be higher, as agencies often use alternative terms such as study visits, training programmes or international exchanges. Mana compared the spending with the school lunch budget under the Office of the Basic Education Commission, where meals cost between Bt22 and Bt27 per child. Using a midpoint of Bt25, the annual Bt250 million could provide 10 million meals, enough to support around 50,000 students for an entire academic year. Over a decade, this would total more than 100 million meals. He also highlighted that one delegation had spent as much as Bt20.8 million on a single overseas trip. Popular destinations included European countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Austria, followed by Japan and South Korea. Travel was only paused between 2020 and 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mana said public concern was not about officials travelling abroad itself, but about the nature of many programmes. He argued that itineraries often focused heavily on tourism-related topics such as geography, culture and the arts of major cities, suggesting limited practical value. He added that such trips could be justified only if their core content was genuinely useful and leisure activities were confined to personal time. He further warned that study trips disguised as tourism could amount to corruption, as they involve the use of public funds and time for personal benefit. He said this reflected an outdated mindset that treats such trips as a form of welfare or reward, rather than a tool for public service improvement. Mana also raised questions about accountability and how the government could prevent similar controversies in future. The Nation reported that as alternatives, he suggested inviting foreign experts to Thailand, conducting online meetings, forming long-term institutional partnerships, or sending smaller, more relevant delegations abroad. He also recommended requiring participants to share knowledge gained with others. Picture courtesy of The Nation Join the discussion? Already a member? Adapted by ASEAN Now Nation 26 Mar 2026
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