Bangkok, 17 June, 2020 – The Royal Thai Government today approved a domestic tourism stimulus package worth 22.4 billion Baht, proposed by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and Ministry of Finance as part of the efforts to mitigate the impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis and accelerate recovery in the travel and tourism sector.
The project is expected to stimulate two million domestic trips during 1 July – 31 October, 2020, and help generate income for accommodation establishments, airlines, tour companies, restaurants, and related businesses.
The package covers three campaigns: Rao Pai Thiao Kan, Thiao Pan Suk and Kamlangjai.
The Rao Pai Thiao Kan package is allocated 18 billion Baht to fund subsidies for accommodation and restaurants at destinations nationwide. The budget will benefit 24,700 accommodation establishments and 36,755 restaurants and related businesses.
A total of five million nights of accommodation will be offered to domestic tourists, who will be responsible for 60% of the room rates. The subsidy will cover the other 40% but be limited at 3,000 Baht per night for up to five nights.
Subsidies for food and attractions will be capped at 600 Baht per night for up to five nights. For these too, domestic tourists will pay 60% of the actual expenses and the subsidy will cover the remaining 40%.
Another two million Baht for Thiao Pan Suk is to fund subsidies for two million air tickets aimed at stimulating two million domestic trips. The subsidy will cover 40% of the domestic flight fares but be capped at 1,000 Baht per tourist. Tourists must book accommodation establishments under the Rao Pai Thiao Kan package to be eligible for the flight subsidy.
The remaining 2.4 million Baht for Kamlangjai is to fund domestic holiday travel for 1.2 million health volunteers and officials of sub-districts hospitals. They must use the services of tour companies for the subsidy that is limited to 2,000 Baht per tourist for a trip of at least two days and one night. This subsidy is expected to help 13,000 tour companies and generate 6.5 billion Baht for the local economy.
