Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Lavaron Sangsnit said the departure tax under discussion would revive a charge that was 500 baht roughly 20 years ago, with the current figure being considered around 1,000 baht. He noted that existing law allows a fee up to 5,000 baht. The levy could be bundled into airline tickets rather than collected at the airport.
Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said the government intends to collect 450 baht from foreign visitors arriving by air. He added that an online public consultation showed more than 80% of participants backed the idea.
Policymakers face a squeeze: domestic demand is soft and growth is sluggish, yet years of budget shortfalls equal to roughly 3 to 4 percent of GDP have eaten into fiscal breathing room. Lavaron argued that people able to travel abroad can more easily absorb an added charge, and said the proceeds could be channeled into promoting domestic tourism and paying for travel insurance or emergency medical coverage.
Travel levies are one of the easiest taxes for a government to introduce. Market Briefs covers that policy free every morning.
The Thai Travel Agents Association warned that an exit fee could noticeably reduce passenger traffic, leading airlines to trim flight frequencies and ultimately dent inbound tourism. That would clash with the government's goal of turning Thailand into a regional aviation hub.
By Oct. 10, the country had welcomed around 24 million foreign tourists, 4% fewer than a year earlier, and still well shy of the nearly 40 million seen in 2019. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is projecting roughly 33 million arrivals this year. If the final count comes in below last year's 32.97 million, it would be the first time since at least 1995 that Thailand has logged consecutive year-over-year declines outside the pandemic period.
If adopted, higher travel charges could lift government revenue to support things Lavaron mentioned, like domestic tourism campaigns and coverage for travel mishaps, while risking some drag on visitor growth. Watch the visitor counts and airlines' schedules from here, since changes there ripple into hotels, airports, duty-free, insurers and anyone selling to travelers.
Small per-trip fees add up fast across millions of arrivals. Get the free Market Briefs daily newsletter and follow it.
