A minister announced on Wednesday that Thailand intends to begin charging foreign visitors entering in the country a 300 baht (US$9) entry fee in June. The money collected would be used to support tourists injured in accidents and improve tourist areas (Jan 11).
The second-largest economy in Southeast Asia relies heavily on the tourism industry, which before the pandemic contributed roughly 12% of the country’s GDP.
Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said that fees “won’t be collected from foreigners with work permits and border crossings,” adding that Thailand anticipates 25 million visitors in 2023.
The suggestion was initially taken into consideration last year and needs cabinet approval.
According to Phiphat, spending on tourism is anticipated to total at least 2.38 trillion baht this year.
Thailand attracted roughly 40 million visitors in 2019.
The number of visitors to Thailand in 2020 was 15,360,000,000.00, a 76.14% decrease from 2019.
The number of tourists visiting Thailand in 2019 was 64,371,000,000.00, up 4.87% from 2018.
The number of tourists visiting Thailand in 2018 was 61,383,000,000.00, up 7.58% from 2017.
The number of tourists visiting Thailand in 2017 was 57,057,000,000.00, up 17.74% from 2016.
