Thailand's new 300-baht 'landing' fee for foreigners gets go-ahead
The Cabinet on Tuesday greenlighted the 300-baht “landing fee” for foreigners arriving by air, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said.
The fee is expected to go into effect from around June 1, or 90 days after it has been published in the Royal Gazette.
The “Kha Yeap Pan Din” (fee for stepping on Thai soil) for foreigners arriving by land or sea will be halved, as people in this group usually only stay for a few days, he said.
Foreigners entering the country via a border pass, those on a one-day trip or those with a work permit will be exempted.
When the fee was proposed last year, Phiphat said the money earned would be used to buy insurance for foreigners and leftover added to the tourism development fund. The fund will support the building of entrances for the disabled and toilets at tourist attractions.
He said medical expenses incurred by foreigners at public hospitals from 2017 to 2019 have cost the government up to 400 million baht. If the ministry collects this fee to cover insurance, then it will not have to seek a separate budget.
This decision has been slammed by netizens both in Thailand and overseas.
