According to the Chinese publication People’s Daily, air entrance would cost 300 baht (RM38.48) per passenger. In comparison, land and marine access will cost 150 baht (RM19.24). Foreign visitors’ admission fees go towards paying for insurance, managing the public health system, and promoting travel while in Thailand.
According to Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily, the Newcastle Pneumonia pandemic caused Thailand to postpone plans to charge foreign visitors an entrance fee years ago. The Thai government announced last year that entry fees for air travelers would be included in the cost of airline tickets. However, it still needs to be determined how entry payments for land visitors will be collected.
According to Bloomberg, Pom Prap made the news to the media almost immediately after the Thai government’s cabinet authorized the pricing scheme on Tuesday. In 2023, according to Pom Prap, he anticipates collecting roughly 3.9 billion baht (RM500 million) in entrance fees.
Those holding Thai passports, border passes, diplomatic or service passports, foreigners with Thai work permits, newborns and children under the age of two, and airline crew members are excluded from paying the entry fee, according to a deputy spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office.
Thailand is a tourist destination, and the People’s Daily’s brief remark claimed that tourism is a major part of the country’s economy. The outbreak has significantly hurt Thai tourism. The admittance fee should not be increased quickly after it has been reduced. This is a short-sighted decision.
Thailand’s tourism assets are comparable to those of its Southeast Asian neighbors and are not unique. Entry fees may provide the Thai government with additional short-term money. Still, they will have a detrimental effect on the tourism sector and could be more cost-effective. It is thought that the country’s tourism industry has opposed this plan since it was initially put up two years ago.
