Tourism dept eyes tour wholesalers to tackle abandoned, grey operations

The newly established Type 5 category covers companies that sell tours to travel agencies and provides tours within and outside Thailand.

To be eligible, the large-scale tour firms or “wholesalers” should have at least two years experience in taking Thai travellers overseas. The companies should also be capable of covering the registration fees of about 2 million baht.

Siriwan Pornlertwiwat, the department’s specialist on tour operators and guides, said the agency aims to bring major tour operators into the system. This way, if there are problems, those responsible can be held accountable, she said.

For a tour company to be classified as a wholesaler, the following criteria must be met:

• At least two years experience in selling outbound tours to Thai travellers

• Only legal entities are eligible and should be able to cover the 2 million baht registration fees

• They should have the certification to purchase a minimum of 300 seats from at least three airlines within a period of no more than two years.

The proposal is currently being discussed with the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA).

Adith Chairattananon, ATTA secretary-general, said the initial concept of the government agency directly supervising the wholesale market needs to be further discussed to define the scope of wholesale tour operators.

This may involve issuing specific licences for wholesalers and setting a higher guarantee threshold of no less than 2 million baht.

However, this issue has raised concerns in the past, as opponents argue that this gives larger companies a chance to stop smaller ones from operating.

The Department of Tourism, meanwhile, has agreed that it needs to gather additional feedback and opinions before proceeding.

"In countries like China and Taiwan, there are regulations that require tour wholesalers to provide a guarantee of 10 million baht. This is because the impact of this type of business affects a wide range of people.

“Consequently, companies that wish to engage in this business must demonstrate a certain level of readiness," said Adith.