Cabinet gives green light to Bt22bn domestic tourism packages
The Cabinet on Tuesday (June 16) approved three packages to stimulate domestic tourism after the lockdown, with a whopping budget of Bt22 billion. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has handed the task of organising the stimulus scheme to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC). He warned that measures taken must be transparent, as fears grow that the huge budget could give rise to corruption.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Anutin Charnwirakul said that “travel bubbles” were still being negotiated to allow free exchange of tourists between Thailand and countries at low risk for Covid-19.
The three domestic tourism stimulus measures will run for four months between July and October, after being drawn up by the ministries of Finance and of Tourism and Sports.
The Tiew Pan Suk (Trips to share happiness) package will offer a 40-per-cent discount of up to Bt1,000 on in-country travel, and is designed to help low-cost airlines and car rental firms.
The Rao Pai Tiew Gun (Let’s travel together) package will offer a 40-per-cent discount on accommodation costing up to Bt3,000 per night for a maximum of five nights. It will also fill tourists’ e-wallets with Bt600 per night for a maximum of five nights, to be used to pay for tourism activities such as spa services, souvenirs and restaurants. Money left unspent at the end of the holiday period will go back into government coffers.
The Kum Lang Jai (Encouragement) package will reward about 1.2 million people, including medical staff and village health volunteers, who are on the frontlines of the Covid-19 battle. They will be granted Bt2,000 per person for at least one-night stay.
Thais will be able to register for the packages via the KTB platform, which will link to accommodation providers approved by the government. The registration process will be similar to that for the “Eat, Shop, Spend” stimulus campaign.