The Thai cabinet has approved the collection of a landing tax, ranging from 150-300 baht, to be collected from all foreign tourists visiting Thailand, tentatively from June 1st, as proposed by the National Tourism Policy Committee.
The landing tax for foreign tourists arriving by land and sea will be 150 baht per head and 300 baht for arrivals by air. The tax is, however, not applied to those who hold diplomatic passports, work permits or special work permits for specific professions as stipulated by the Labour Ministry, children under two-years-old and transit passengers.
The cabinet also instructed the Immigration Bureau to streamline its regulations and conditions regarding immigration documents and relevant immigration laws, under which receipts for tourism fee payments can be used by the tourists when applying for re-entry permits.
Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn explained that the landing tax will be used for domestic tourism development and for insurance coverage for tourists while they are in Thailand.
