Tourism ministry to expand subsidy for northern trips
Budget from central fund possible as ministry is told to increase 10,000 limit on applicants for the co-payment scheme
Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said on Monday that his ministry is seeking a budget from the central fund to expand the ministry’s programme of subsidising visits to northern provinces recovering from flood disasters.
Sorawong said he was discussing the expansion of the project called Aew Nua Khon La Krung (co-payment for visiting northern provinces) with Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat.
Initially, Sorawong announced that the application-based scheme, which would be given to 10,000 tourists visiting Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai to help the provinces recover from recent flood disasters, would be awarded on a first come first served basis.
The initial plan would use a Tourism Authority of Thailand budget to pay 400 baht to each winner in the co-payment scheme.
However, Sorawong said, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told him to expand the project, saying 10,000 participants would be too few to revive the economy.
Sorawong said Paetongtarn assigned him to consult the Finance Ministry about sourcing the money to expand the co-payment tourism project, adding that he and Julapun had agreed in principle to draw money from the central fund for stimulating the economy, which has 187 billion baht left.
Sorawong said the TAT was in the process of gathering information on products and services in the northern provinces eligible to be part of the 400-baht subsidy granted under the co-payment scheme. The services would include accommodation and food, Sorawong added.
He said the expanded project would cover other northern provinces than Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai but his ministry expected that 70% of the subsidies would be spent in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
Sorawong added that his ministry would next year bring back the Rao Thiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) programme of the Prayut Chan-o-cha government that was used to stimulate tourism after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The programme subsidised the hotel room costs by 40% with tourists paying the remainder.
Sorawong said that given the size of the programme, he would need to consult with other government agencies as to the budget and the number of tourists allowed to benefit from the scheme.
The government would also consider whether to provide a subsidy of 40% or not, he added.
