Thailand‘s cabinet on Tuesday agreed to extend a waiver on operating fees for hoteliers for two more years to support the recovery of the country’s tourism sector, and also approved a subsidy for rice farmers. The exemption of the annual fee of 40 baht ( USD 1.1) per hotel room from July 2024 to June 2026 will cost the government 54 million baht ( USD 1.47 million) in lost revenue, deputy spokesperson Karom Phonphonklang told a news conference.
Waiving the fee will help reduce expenses for hotel operators who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and may remain unable to recover, he said.
Tourism is a key driver of the Thai economy, which has lagged regional peers, as it faces high household debt and borrowing costs as well as weak exports.
The number of foreign visitors for business and leisure was 3.04 million last month, steady from the level seen in April, and down slightly from the all-time monthly record in March, data from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) showed. Arrivals last month were up 60 per cent from the same period last year and 9.6 per cent higher than in May 2019.
The government, which is targeting 3 per cent economic growth this year after last year’s 1.9 per cent expansion, has said tourism will continue to underpin economic growth. Thailand received 16.84 million foreign tourist arrivals since the start of 2024 to June 23 this year, up 36 per cent year on the year, with spending of 795 billion baht ( USD 21.7 billion), tourism ministry data showed.
China was the biggest source market with 3.31 million tourists during the period.
The government is aiming for 36.7 million foreign visitors this year, compared with a record of nearly 40 million in pre-pandemic 2019.
The cabinet also approved a subsidy of 30 billion baht for rice farmers to buy fertiliser, which is expected to help 4.68 million rice farming households, the government said in a statement.
Thailand, the world’s second-largest exporter of the grain after India, earlier said rice exports may reach 8 million metric tons this year.
