Thailand Will Start Charging Tourists in 2023 & Here's Who Will Have To Pay
There's a dark reason behind it.
Wat Pho temple in Bangkok, Thailand. Right: A tourist in Thailand.
If you have plans to head to Asia this year and Thailand is on your list, keep in mind you may be required to pay a tourist tax when travelling there.
Thailand has announced a tourist tax for visitors entering the country starting later in 2023 and the reasoning for it is to partially deal with the travellers who have accidents during their stay.
The new tourist tax will go into effect on June 1 after it was approved on February 14, Bloomberg reports.
The outlet notes the fee is being imposed at a time when Thailand is seeing an increase in tourists and adds that foreign tourist arrivals "may reach as high as 30 million" in 2023, triple the amount the country saw last year.
Here's what you need to know about the new fee.
How much is the tourist fee in Thailand?
According to Nikkei Asia, foreign visitors will be required to pay 300 baht (US $8.84) if they're arriving by air and those coming into the country by land or boat will have to pay 150 baht (US $4.42).
The fee will be collected upon arrival in the country.
This new fee is separate from the one travellers pay upon leaving the country. The exit fee has been around for decades.
The international departure tax is typically included in the price of the airline ticket, as stated on the Suvarnabhumi Airport website.
Who will have to pay the tourist fee in Thailand?
There are several exemptions for the new tourist fee.
Day travellers, transit passengers and children under the age of two will not have to pay the 300 baht entry fee.
People who have a work permit or who have diplomatic and official passports will also be exempted.
When will the tourist fee go into effect in Thailand?
The tourist fee will go into effect on June 1, 2023.
Why is Thailand charging a tourist fee?
According to the country's tourism minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the money collected through the new tax will go towards assisting tourists who have been involved in accidents and for developing tourist attractions, as reported by the Independent.
Nikkei Asia reports the funds will also go toward "repatriating the remains of foreign travellers" who died while visiting the country.
It's hard to determine the exact number of tourists that die in the country per year.
In 2016, the Bangkok Post reported the country saw a 54% jump in the number of foreign tourists who died in the country the previous year (2015). It's unknown if and by how much those numbers changed during the pandemic, although dozens of deaths are reported each year.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.