Thailand has decided to go with a new rule for foreign tourists come April, 2022. According to the latest rules, Thailand is all set to charge 300 baht, or $9 from foreign tourists from April onwards. Thailand is undoubtedly one of the biggest tourist attractions in Asia, and the foreign tourist entry fee will go towards recovering the pandemic-hit travel industry.
Thailand, which largely depends on tourism, had only 200000 arrivals last year, as compared to the 40 million arrivals in 2019.
Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said that part of this fee will be used to take care of tourists. He said, “We’ve encountered times when insurance didn’t have coverage for tourists … which became our burden to take care of them.”
The latest fees required to be paid by foreign tourists is now included in a list of COVID-related payments, such as for COVID tests, hotel accommodation or quarantine, and also insurance for COVID treatment of at least $50000.
Thailand had recently suspended its quarantine-free visas in order to protect itself from the spread of the new variant, Omicron. Now it is implementing this fee starting April of this year, which has been in discussion for a long time.
The additional fee of $9 will be added to the price of the airline ticket, and will be part of the Thai government’s sustainable tourism plans. The country is expecting a rise in tourism this year, after two dismal years of inbound tourism. Thailand is hoping to get somewhere between 5 to 15 million foreign arrivals this year.
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