It’s no secret that Malaysians love to travel north of the Peninsular border to Thailand, with tourists from our country making up the largest number of foreign travellers to the Land of Smiles last year with a whopping 4,626,422 visitors.
Well, for frequent travellers to Thailand, you’d soon have to fork out just a little bit more for a trip to the Kingdom as the country’s Tourism and Sports Ministry has announced that it’s introducing a THB300 or approximately RM40 tourism tax for foreign tourists starting next year.
Thailand will impose a THB300 tourism tax for foreign tourists in 2025
Sorawong Thienthong
This announcement is not surprising, as Thailand had imposed a similar tax for foreign tourists in the past. Furthermore, last year, the nation’s tourism players suggested the tax be reintroduced to deal with overtourism issues.
Accordingly, Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said that it will submit the THB300 tourism tax plan for Cabinet approval in January 2025.
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Bangkok Post quoted Sorawong as saying that the previous government under Prayut Chan-o-cha in February 2023 had approved the THB300 tourism tax, but since the Government has changed, it now requires approval from the new Cabinet following last year’s Thai General Election.
The tourism tax will start with air travellers to Thailand first
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The Tourism and Sports Minister further elaborated that once approved, the tourism tax will start with air passengers as the first phase. However, the implementation will need 6 months after Cabinet approval to prepare the system.
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Once the system is in place, the country will impose a tourism tax on foreign travellers who enter Thailand overland as part of the second phase.
Sorawong added that the transaction system for paying the tourism tax has been prepared by Krungthai Bank and tourists can pay via a website or app that is currently being developed.
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So, what do you guys think of the THB300 tourism tax? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
