On June 1, 2023, the Thai government has stated that it would begin charging a mandatory entrance charge to any non-Thai nationals visiting the country.
Air travelers will pay 300 baht, while those coming by land or sea would pay only 150 baht. A number of other types of travelers won’t have to pay the fees: those with diplomatic or official passports, foreigners with work permits, day trippers, transit passengers, children under the age of two, and those who fall into a certain category determined by the national tourist committee.
The levies, which will be referred to as Thailand Traveler Fees (TTF), are projected to bring in 3.9 billion baht in income in 2023, as stated by Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. A portion of the revenue will be set aside to cover medical and accidental expenses incurred by visitors.
This change was motivated by fears that between 2017 and 2019, the government will have to spend almost 400 million baht subsidizing healthcare for international visitors to Thailand’s public hospitals.
Even with the help of a claim center devoted to following up on payments, the Chief of the Department of Health Service Support (DHSS) claimed earlier that the agency was having trouble getting payments from international patients or their family.
