Thailand is unlikely to abandon the highly controversial tourist tax called “Kha Yeap Pan Din” (fee for stepping on Thai soil), also known as a “landing fee”, according to new tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Pongpanich.
The measure, approved in principle by the Cabinet in February last year, aims to levy 300 baht ($8.17) for foreigners arriving by air and 150 baht ($4.09) for those arriving by land or sea.
Sermsak told the press on Thursday that the implementation of the tax is “unlikely to be scrapped”, after he opened an event to promote sustainable tourism hosted by the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA).
“I have received the principle of the measure and (the ministry) is considering the implementation process,” he said. “We already have people working on it.”
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin earlier urged that the fee collection be delayed so that it would not affect the government’s tourism promotion policy.
When the…