Tourists at Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi airport terminal on April 11 during this year’s Songkran festival. (Photo: bangkokpost.com)Bangkok (VNA) – Thai tourism
operators are urging the Thai government to seriously consider measures to
tackle overtourism. One of the proposed measures is a tourism tax of 300 baht (8.11 USD).
As Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has
vowed to make 2025 a landmark year for tourism, secretary-general of the
Federation of Thai Tourism Associations (Fetta) Adith Chairattananon said a
white paper that the federation will present to the government will include
solutions to prevent over-tourism, which was seen in Thailand before the
pandemic.
According to Adith, with a projection of 40
million tourists, major destinations in Thailand like Phuket, Samui, and Pattaya
are on the verge of facing overtourism.
During the high season, Phuket had already
witnessed traffic congestion and water shortages, while its international
airport ran out of available slots for airlines, he said.
He also said one of the key strategies is
to attract tourists from major hubs to the country’s secondary cities that
offer plenty of potential attractions and space to accommodate a significant
flow of tourists.
There should be incentives for airlines who
are keen to operate direct flights to provincial airports such as U-tapao, and
those serving Khon Kaen and Krabi, he suggested, adding that the move will
alleviate congestion among gateways such as Phuket Airport or Suvarnabhumi
Airport, and will also help create regional business opportunities.
Besides, relevant authorities should
accelerate connectivity between airports to inner cities too. For instance, the
lack of public bus access from U-tapao Airport to Pattaya city discourages new
airlines from operating flights as the current situation is not convenient for
passengers.
Meanwhile, Vice President of the Tourism Council of
Thailand (TCT) Surawat Akaraworamat said the government should reconsider
collecting the 300-baht tourism fee to help fund tourism development as the
plan and all related preparations have now been finalised.
Surawat said the essential funds will
benefit infrastructure development in second-tier provinces to attract tourists
and improve attractions that have deteriorated due to overtourism.
He said the 300-baht fee will help tourism
authorities receive a larger budget. He noted that a tax of only 300 baht will
not discourage foreign tourists from visiting Thailand as some parties have
raised as a concern since the fee is inexpensive compared to some other nations.
Thai authorities have reconsidered measures
to tackle the overtourism issue in the context that other countries in
the world have made moves. Last week, Amsterdam city banned building new hotels
in the city while residents of Spain’s Canary Islands called for a limit on
tourist numbers because they were affected by rising housing costs./.
