In an announcement free of any detail, the new tourism and sports minister Atthakorn Sirilatthayakorn has insisted that the long delayed entry tax of 300 baht (US$9) will be start to be collected “within the next four months”. Known as “ka yeap pan din”, a tax to step onto Thai soil, the proposal has been on the table for five years, but previous governments never implemented it because of practical issues.
The latest announcement suggests that all tourists entering by air, land and sea will pay a common 300 baht. How the sum will be paid remains a mystery for now. It is not payable by Thai citizens, so the notion of including the tax on air tickets poses titanic problems as airlines were quick to point out last year. Nor do we know how to define a foreign tourist. It obviously includes 60 days visa exempt visitors, but whether (for example) retirees on annually renewable visas will escape is speculative. Those holding a Destination Thailand Visa, a tourist permit, must leave the country at least twice a year. Would they receive some kind of discount on re-entry?
An efficient mode of revenue collection has escaped at least four earlier tourist ministers. Setting up toll booths at airports and land and sea entry points would be an unthinkable strategy for awesome delays and anti-marketing confusion. Linking the fee to the newly introduced Thailand Digital Arrival Card with a credit card facility is possible, but the devil would certainly be in the detail. Such a move would also be very unpopular as the TDAC, introduced last spring, was promoted as being entirely free of charge.
It remains to be clarified who or what will benefit from the about-to-be-imposed tourist tax. Maintaining or improving tourist sites, such as temples or parks, has always been cited. Another suggestion has been to help make second-tier cities more attractive as a way of deflecting visitors away from traditional Pattaya or overcrowded Phuket. It’s safe to assume that most of the cash will be spent by the government at its sole discretion. Thus, in theory, it could be spent on marketing campaigns abroad.
But what about tourist medical insurance? Would the new fund mean that tourists, however defined, would get free hospital treatment for emergencies? Obviously not. Maybe there will be a discretionary fund of some kind requiring prior registration, or maybe compensation will be available for costs associated with foreigner deaths after serious accidents. Or maybe the fund will be restricted to improving tourist safety by providing more emergency vehicles or teaching hospital staff more languages.
The new minister stated that the entry tax will require clarification to foreign tourists how they will benefit from parting with their cash. So far, the response on social media has been hugely negative. Given that the tax is due to be implemented no later than January 2026, there are enormous pressures to sort out the detail amazingly quickly. Or announce yet another delay.
