– Thai Hotels Association (THA) president Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun said the association sent a letter on the 8th of October to the Revenue Department director-general objecting to the principle of the draft Departure Tax Act.
– The draft would charge 1,000 baht on every air departure, for every nationality, under a legal ceiling of 5,000 baht. Consultation runs until 29 October. The tax is not currently in force and only a proposal.
– THA put the stacked cost for a foreign visitor at up to 2,570 baht if the airport passenger charge, the proposed 450-baht entry fee and the departure tax all applied. A family of four would face 10,280 baht before hotel, transport or local levies.
– The association asked the Revenue Department and the Finance Ministry to drop the bill in its current form, or at least publish a full impact study before it moves or possibly even have a referendum.
Bangkok: The Thai Hotels Association or THA, has formally opposed the proposed 1,000-baht tax on air departures, warning that the charge, stacked on other fees, would raise the cost of a trip to Thailand and weaken the country’s position against regional rivals, joining a rising number of prominent voices against the proposal.
THA president Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun said the association submitted its letter to the director-general of the Revenue Department on the 8th of October, objecting to the principle of the draft Departure Tax Act. The Revenue Department opened public consultation on the 30th of September. Comments run through the 29th of October. Under the draft, every nationality would pay 1,000 baht on each air departure in the first phase, with a statutory ceiling of 5,000 baht. Land and sea exits would be exempt at the start. Nothing has been passed.
THA’s arithmetic for a foreign visitor is 2,570 baht if three items all applied: the Airports of Thailand international passenger service charge of 1,120 baht, in force since the 20th of June at six airports including Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and Phuket; a proposed 450-baht foreign tourist fee; and the proposed 1,000-baht departure tax.
The association stressed that only the passenger charge is being collected now. The entry fee and the departure tax remain proposals. On that same stack, a family of four would face 10,280 baht before accommodation, domestic transport, other spending, or the provincial hotel levies that some destinations already charge.
The letter sets out four reasons. First, the higher total cost could make Thailand less competitive for foreign visitors. Second, the tax would hit two-way tourism. If fewer Thais fly out, airline loads fall, carriers cut frequencies or delay new routes, and the seats available for people flying in shrink with them. That reaches hotels, restaurants and local businesses, not only outbound travellers. Third, the industry is still fragile from economic uncertainty, international conflict and higher travel costs. An extra 1,000 baht could tip budget and short-haul visitors toward cheaper alternatives. Fourth, any revenue gain should be set against losses in arrivals, hotel income, jobs and other tax, and compared with what competing countries charge.
THA asked the Revenue Department and the Finance Ministry to review and stop pushing the bill in its present form. If the government proceeds, the association wants transparent studies of the effect on travellers, airlines, hotels and the wider economy, and consideration of alternatives that do not load more cost onto a ticket. The possibility of a public widespread referendum or vote was also brought up.
The hotels’ letter follows the same draft that travel agents objected to earlier in the week. Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas has defended the draft on the ground that a higher cost of flying out could push more Thais to holiday at home and spend money in Thailand instead. Neither the hotels nor the agents have accepted that claim without an impact study.
In a separate high-season note the same week, THA also said ASEAN arrivals were running about 20 percent below expectations, with flood effects still weighing on demand. That figure is the association’s own reading of the market, not a government statistic, and is not part of the tax letter itself.