The cabinet yesterday approved the collection of a 300-baht tourism fee from foreigners visiting Thailand by air, along with a 150-baht fee for visitors by land or sea, expected to start in June this year.
Foreigners visiting Thailand on day trips that do not include an overnight stay are exempted from the fee.
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the fees would mainly be used to cover expenses to take care of tourists.
According to Mr Phiphat, the government spent 300-400 million baht per year between 2017-2019 to compensate the Public Health Ministry for foreign tourists who received medical services in the country's public hospitals before returning to their home countries without settling their bills.
The fee collection is expected to take effect within 90 days after being published in the Royal Gazette, or roughly June 1 this year.
Mr Phiphat said earlier almost 90% of the fee allocation would be used for raising tourism standards to a global level, including universal design for public facilities, which should be more user-friendly for people with physical impairments.
Expatriates must also pay the fee upon arrival, but will be eligible for a refund later because the system cannot distinguish between passport holders who hold work permits and regular tourists, he said.
Business visitors must pay the fee and are not eligible for a refund as they do not pay personal income tax to the government, unlike expatriates.
In a separate development, the cabinet yesterday endorsed the commencement of free trade agreement (FTA) talks between Thailand and the EU, with the talks scheduled to kick off next month.
"A Thai-EU FTA is extremely vital to Thailand as the pact, once implemented, will help build up the country's trade and investment competitive edge over its rivals," said Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit.
The EU, comprising 27 member states, is Thailand's fourth-largest trading partner after China, the US and Japan.
FTA negotiations with the EU were put on hold after the 2014 coup as the EU protested against what it deemed the suspension of democracy.
In 2022, trade between Thailand and the EU tallied US$41 billion, accounting for 7% of Thailand's total trade.
Exports to the EU totalled $22.7 billion last year, up 5.17% from the year before.
Key export products included computers, computer equipment and components, gems and jewellery, air conditioners and components, rubber products, and electronic circuit boards.
Thailand has 14 FTAs in place with 18 countries, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which took effect at the start of last year.
