The move was announced on Tuesday evening by the Labour Ministry following a meeting of the tripartite wage committee, which is made up of representatives from the business, labour and government sectors.
The committee approved a minimum wage increase to 400 baht per day for tourism-related businesses and four-star hotels with at least 50 employees in some areas in 10 provinces, effective April 13.
The hike will be applied in Bangkok’s Pathumwan and Watthana districts; the area in Krabi under the jurisdiction of Tambon Ao Nang administrative organisation; Pattaya City in Chon Buri, Nakhon Chiang Mai municipality, Chiang Mai; Hua Hin municipality, Prachuap Khiri Khan; Phang Nga’s Tambon Khuk Khak municipality, all of Phuket, Rayong’s Tambon Ban Phae, Songkhla’s Hat Yai municipality, and Surat Thani’s Koh Samui district.
TCC chairman Sanan Angubolkul said the increased wages would help fill job positions that have been vacant since the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as help current workers in the hospitality industry who are still recovering from the impact of the pandemic, which severely affected the tourism industry during 2020-2023.
“Four-star hotels and large tourism/service businesses in these provinces still require additional workers to cope with increasing numbers of tourists,” he said. “The wage hike should create an influx of labour to the tourism sector, thus helping to strengthen the growth of Thailand’s tourism industry in a sustainable manner.”