According to the Bangkok Post on the 22nd, Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports Sarawong Tianteng said he plans to ask the Cabinet for a budget of 700 million baht for a project to provide free domestic flights.
Minister Tian Teng explained that the Thai government “supports domestic tickets priced at 1750 one-way and 3,500 baht round-trip,” adding, “The goal is to attract at least 200,000 foreign tourists, focusing on tourist destinations across Thailand, including UNESCO World Heritage-designated cities.”
The program will be implemented from September to November, and Thailand’s tourism agency will cooperate with six domestic airlines. Foreigners who purchase international flights can receive one free round-trip domestic flight ticket (including 20 kilograms of luggage) from six airlines, including Thai Airways, Thai Air Asia, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Ryanair, and Thai Vietjet. However, this benefit applies only to new reservations.
The Thai government expects about 8.81 billion baht of tourism revenue and 21.8 billion baht of economic effect through the measures.
The project is said to have been inspired by the “Free Domestic Flights” campaign implemented by the Japanese government to distribute tourists from major cities to other domestic tourist destinations.
Thailand’s tourism industry has been shrinking in the aftermath of the recent kidnapping of Chinese tourists and last month’s war on the Thai-Cambodian border.
According to Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, 20.8 million tourists visited Thailand as of August 17 this year, down 7% from the same period last year. Chinese tourists topped the list, with 2.9 million entering the country.
The Thai government has declared 2025 as the ‘Amazing Thailand Grand Tourism and Sports Year’ and is continuing active policies to revive the tourism industry.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
