After the current Covid wave calms, Thailand wants to begin charging foreign tourists a 300 baht ($9) entry charge as part of its efforts to revive the country's tourism business, which has been hampered by the epidemic.

An insurance program for tourists and the development of local tourist sites are expected to benefit from the levy, according to Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, a government spokesperson, who issued a statement on Wednesday. According to him, the fee would be added to the price of airline tickets starting in April, and the means of collecting it from people entering the country by land has yet to be defined.

The introduction of an admission charge comes as the Southeast Asian nation strives to define a route for its tourist industry in the aftermath of the pandemic virus. The government has been experimenting with numerous initiatives to revitalize its tourism economy, with varying degrees of success thus far. In the meanwhile, Thailand has been compelled to halt quarantine-free visas in order to contain the spread of omicron, but it has also expanded the scope of the so-called Phuket Sandbox program in order to keep the tourism economy alive.

According to Suthipong Phuenphiphop, vice president of the Thailand Tourism Council, while the admission charge has been discussed for a long time, its implementation has been put on hold by Covid. The levy is comparable to fees levied on visitors in many other nations, and the advantages that would accrue as a result of the effort will be enormous when weighed against the minimal amount, according to him.

According to Thanakorn, foreign visitors would have maximum insurance coverage of 1 million baht per person in the event of death and up to 500,000 baht for hospitalization costs. According to him, the government is aiming to generate as much as 1.8 trillion baht in tourist earnings this year, with 800 billion baht coming from international visitors.

According to Thanakorn, the government anticipates 5 million international tourists based on the existing scenario, with the majority of visitors projected to come from Europe and the United States. The number of visitors arriving might reach 9 million if Chinese and Indian tourists return, and the number could reach 15 million if land borders are restored, according to him.

Tourists from Europe, the United States, and the Middle East will continue to be the main drivers of the Thai tourism industry this year, according to Amonthep Chawla, head of research at CIMB Bank Thai Pcl. "The tax will have no influence on these groups," he added. It should be the priority at this time to guarantee that business owners have sufficient money to hire employees. If the current scenario persists until the second half of this year, it will have a negative impact on the economy."