Thailand’s ฿1,000 Departure Tax: What Hua Hin Flyers Need to Know
A draft law would add ฿1,000 to every international flight out of Thailand, for all nationalities. It is not approved, and the public consultation closes on Thursday 29 October.
Anyone flying out of Thailand could soon pay ฿1,000 on top of their ticket, whatever their passport. It is only a draft, but the Revenue Department’s public consultation closes on Thursday 29 October, so this week is the moment to read it.
Hua Hin Airport’s scheduled flights are still domestic, as our look at the Bangkok commute explains. So the people who would feel this are Hua Hin residents and weekenders who leave the country through Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang: long-stayers flying home, second-home owners and anyone who works regionally.
What the draft says
The Revenue Department opened consultation on 30 September on a new Departure Tax Act, according to The Nation. The initial rate would be ฿1,000 per departure by air, with a legal ceiling of ฿5,000.
It would apply to every nationality. The current law dates from 1983 and covers only Thais and foreign nationals who are permitted to reside in Thailand, so ordinary tourists fall outside it today.
Airlines would collect the tax when you buy a ticket, so it would show up in the fare rather than as a counter payment. Thai Examiner lists the exemptions in the proposal. They cover children aged two or under, transit passengers, certain official travellers, and tickets bought before the law takes effect.
The Nation says the tax would initially be collected only on air travel, so leaving by land or sea would not trigger it for now.
Not in force, and not yet approved
Nobody is paying this today. If the law passes, Thai Examiner reports it would take effect 180 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. The consultation itself sets no start date.
The politics are less settled than the draft. The Bangkok Post headlined its 22 October report “No plans for departure tax”. The remarks it quotes from Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas are more cautious than that headline.
He said any tax policy must be carefully assessed, citing Middle East instability that is pushing up energy and airline costs. He also warned that extra burdens on travellers or airlines could stifle the tourism recovery. Earlier in October, Thai Examiner reports, he had defended the idea as a way to keep Thai holiday spending at home.
The bill for foreign visitors
The ฿1,000 would not replace existing charges. Airports of Thailand raised its international passenger service charge from ฿730 to ฿1,120 on 20 June. A separate ฿450 foreign-tourist entry fee, which includes insurance cover, is moving towards the National Tourism Policy Committee and Cabinet.
Stack all three and the Association of Thai Travel Agents calculates a foreign air traveller could pay ฿2,570 in new or higher charges, a sum Thai Examiner says the industry plans to fight. The association also says tourism could lose ฿50 billion to ฿150 billion a year, against the ฿45.9 billion the tax is expected to raise. Those are the industry’s estimates, not independent ones.
Asia Aviation, which runs Thai AirAsia, has argued that raising VAT would be better than hampering tourism, the Bangkok Post reports. The context is a busy year: Thailand recorded 24.4 million foreign arrivals between 1 January and 17 October, according to the tourism minister.
How to have your say
You can comment through the Revenue Department’s consultation page, which links to the government’s central legal site. Thaiger’s Thai-language explainer notes that choosing “disagree” with a reason is an official comment, not a petition, and that an account may be needed on the legal site.
The deadline is Thursday 29 October. After that, the department weighs the responses before deciding whether the draft goes any further. Watch for that step, and for any Cabinet decision on the ฿450 fee, before you book a big trip for next year.
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