Thailand has confirmed plans to begin collecting an entry fee from foreign tourists arriving in the country starting in June 2023.

According to Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the funds raised from this fee will be used to support visitors involved in accidents and to develop tourist destinations in the country.

Minister Phiphat noted, however, that the fee - between THB150 and 300 - will not be collected from foreigners with work permits and border passes plus not applicable to one-day visitors.

Thailand expects to see approximately 25 million tourist arrivals this year, a significant increase from the 11.8 million arrivals in 2022. In 2019, the country welcomed a record 40 million arrivals, with over 11 million of them being Chinese.

Tourism is a major contributor to the economy of Thailand, Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, contributing about 12% of its gross domestic product before the pandemic. Tourism spending is forecast to reach at least 2.38 trillion THB this year.

Founder and Managing Director from C9 Hotelworks, Bill Barnett said:

'Thailand's 'Tourist Entry Fee' starts in June and the THB300 is not a positive for tourism recovery. It creates more paperwork for airlines and will simply be another reason why airfares stay high. Meanwhile, the money is for tourism accident subsidies and not badly needed infrastructure. This is a negative move and tourism voices need to be heard on the move.'