Thailand Scraps Controversial Tourist Fee, Begins Luxury Travel Push

After years of will they, won't they, Thailand has finally decided to scrap the contentious proposal to impose a THB 300 ($8.20) tourism fee on international tourists arriving by air.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said this week that his administration would abandon the previous government's plan.

In 2021, to revive the tourism industry, the tourism ministry proposed a THB 500 tourism fee. The head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand at that time said, “The additional cost won’t have an impact on tourists as we want to focus on the quality market.”

Then, in February of last year, the Thai cabinet approved that international tourists arriving by air would pay THB 300 from June 1, and those entering by land or sea would pay a fee of THB 150 ($4).

The government intended to use the revenue from the tourism fee to fund tourism management and insurance for