Thailand to Impose Fees on Incoming Tourists from April... "Measure for COVID-19 Insurance"

300 Baht Entry Fee for All Tourists
"Increased Medical Burden for Tourists Without Travel Insurance"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Thai government announced that starting in April, all tourists visiting Thailand will be charged an entry fee. This move is interpreted as an effort to operate insurance that covers COVID-19 testing, quarantine, and treatment, as the burden of COVID-19 treatment has increased for tourists without travel insurance. With the spread of the Omicron variant expected to impact the tourism industry for the third consecutive year, not only Thailand but also major tourist countries are expected to implement similar fee policies in the future.

On the 12th (local time), the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced in a statement that from April, all foreigners visiting Thailand will be charged an entry fee of 300 baht (approximately 11,000 KRW). This fee will be included in the airfare to Thailand.

Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said in an interview with AFP, "The entry fee to be imposed will mainly be used for insurance that covers COVID-19 testing, quarantine, and treatment, and will also be used to expand tourism infrastructure. There have been cases of tourists who did not have travel insurance contracting COVID-19 after entering the country, and as the treatment burden for these patients increased, the fee was imposed," he explained.

The Thai government expects more than 5 million tourists to enter the country this year despite the additional entry fee. Before COVID-19, in 2019, the number of inbound tourists reached 40 million annually, but last year the number plummeted to 200,000, causing significant damage. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Thailand’s tourism sector accounts for 21.6% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), ranking third in the world after Cambodia (32.8%) and the Philippines (24.7%).

Since October, when quarantine-free entry measures were suspended due to the resurgence of COVID-19, the Thai government implemented the ‘sandbox’ policy as an alternative in Phuket, a major tourist destination, starting from the 21st of last month. The sandbox allows overseas fully vaccinated travelers to stay in Phuket for one week, and if they continue to test negative for COVID-19, they can then travel to other regions. This measure has reportedly attracted more than 4,000 tourists per day from the US and Europe who have completed vaccination to visit Phuket.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.