Thailand to tighten rules on travel trailers

She said that the ministerial regulations are being revised to cover this type of transport.

She said today that the emphasis would be placed on the northern part of Thailand, the main gateway for Chinese trailers. During the Chinese New Year, over 3,000 trailers entered Thailand.  Next week, there will be a discussion with private business operations, she added. 

According to Kobkarn, Thailand levies Bt1,300 visa fee on inbound vehicles, Bt400 insurance fee, plus Bt200 as border pass fee. However, to enter China, insurance deposit worth Bt300,000 is slapped on Thailand-registered vehicles.  Including all types of fees, each Thai tourist need to pay Bt15,000. 

She also added that the duration of Thailand's traffic rule VDO shown to inbound tourists was only 15 minutes, against 1 hour in China.

Kobkarn also unveiled the plan to work with the Public Health Ministry, as state hospitals usually need to cater treatment to tourists. She noted that some tourists entered the country without having travel insurance and could not foot medical bills. 

Possibly in April, the travel insurance policy is expected to cover all tourists, she said. It is being finalised if this insurance fee should be included in the visa fee or airfares.