Tourism operators have raised concerns about the 500 baht fee to be collected from foreign tourists next year, worried that the timeline of this policy may not be appropriate for an industry in dire need of recovery.
Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), said the concept of setting up a transformation fund for the tourism industry is promising, but there are uncertainties next year that could jeopardize the tourism situation.
Even though the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) predicted that Thailand will win back 10 million tourists in 2022, the latest forecast from the Bank of Thailand (BoT) revised down the number to 6 million, mainly attributed to possible virus spread and new variant, low consumer confidence and stimulus measures that still need consistency.
“Fee collection will impact decision making as the additional cost is considerably high compared with the average expenditure while traveling in Thailand, such as hotel room per night of just 1,000 baht. If the government really has to move forward, it should not implement this policy in the first half of next year,” said Mrs Marisa. (continues)
Source - BangkokJack
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