Knowing about the “Tourist Tax”

Knowing about the “Tourist Tax”

       The Tourist Tax is a tax collected from foreign tourists as a fee for administering tourism programs. This amount is deposited in the National Tourism Promotion Fund, which was established under the National Tourism Policy Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (revised), and the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Sports will be responsible for using the money to develop urgent missions related to tourism.     
 Originally, Thailand was scheduled to start collecting Tourist Tax from 1 January 2022 in the amount of 300 baht per person (for air passengers; arrivals by land or water would pay 150 baht). However, because of the spread of Covid-19, which had severely affected the tourism industry, it was scheduled to be collected on 1 April 2022, but that has also been opposed by tour operators, causing the government to put off the collection until June.

        Fifty baht of the 300 or 150 baht per person will be allocated to purchase insurance for foreign tourists. In the event of an accident or death, they will receive a maximum limit of 1 million baht or receive medical expenses up to 500,000 baht, which is considered an additional benefit in addition to the insurance that most tourists usually buy before traveling. The rest of the money is used as working capital for tourism development, development of skills in management, and marketing, as well as conservation of tourism resources in the community, including maintaining the quality of tourist attractions and promoting new tourism products.

       Airlines will be required to collect the Tourist Tax for foreign tourists only, and it will be included in the price of the air ticket immediately. As for persons traveling to Thailand by land, a smartphone application will be developed for tourists to pay before arriving and show proof of payment before entering the country, to improve convenience and speed. The fee will not be levied on one-day travelers.