Some of the world’s most frequent tourist destinations are beginning to come up with ways to temper the influx of holidaymakers in an effort to curb over-tourism. We’ve already seen Venice enact a policy where day-trippers would have to be up to A$15 to enter the city, and now Thailand is introducing something similar with a tourist entry fee.
While it’s been in discussions for a while, the introduction of an entry fee, negligible as it is, should be factored in when Aussies plan on jetting over to hot spots like Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai. You’re only going to be paying 300 baht ($AU12) for each trip, but it’s something be aware of regardless.
Travellers flying into Thailand will be subject to the 300 baht entry fee, while those entering the country via its land borders and sea ports will only pay half of that, 150 baht (AU$6).
The prices were approved by the relevant authorities this year following the country’s revived tourism exceeding expectations and obviously causing a bit of concern with overtourism – something that has always been an issue for Thailand.
The Thailand entry fee will come into effect in June 2023 and is expected to rake in 3.9 billion baht (AU$164 million) by the end of this year. That’s no chump change, and part of it that sum will be used to provide health and accidental insurance cover for the tourists during their stay in Thailand. Other uses include the development of local tourist attractions.
In terms of visitor numbers, it’s expected Thailand’s arrivals will exceed 30 million by the end of this year, which is a significant uptick from the 11.2 million visitors that entered the country in 2022.
As reported by Bangkok Post, the method of collection from entry by land is yet to be determined by the government, but the Thai entry fee may be added to air ticket prices for those arriving on the many flights that arrive in Thailand each day. And in that case, you won’t have to actually do anything, just be aware that your ticket price will be slightly more expensive as a result.
