Thai tourism risks missing Indian visitor target due to visa delays, taxes

Tourism operators catering to Thailand‘s Indian market have expressed concerns over the potential impact of slow visa application processing, high airfares, and an increase in outbound tax rates from India on visitor numbers to Thailand. These factors could contribute to the Thai government failing to achieve its target of attracting 2 million Indian tourists this year.

Enchantive Asia’s chief executive Rajesh Nair highlighted that despite the strong demand from Indian travellers, several obstacles are impeding their arrival in Thailand. Among these is the Indian government’s proposal to raise its Tax Collected at Source (TCS) for overseas tour packages from 5% to 20%, effective from July 1.

Nair explained that the higher tax rate could deter tourists from travelling abroad or encourage them to opt for domestic trips instead, even though they can reclaim TCS on annual income…