Scrap double pricing to attract more visitors
Play
Re: "Hiking entry fees won't help tourism", Letters February 5.
I agree with Linus Knobel, who says that, by charging foreigners more than Thais, we are driving away those whom we are trying to attract, and meanwhile our parks and other natural environment are becoming more rubbish-strewn by the day.
In principle I agree that, if a service is funded with our tax money, those who pay Thai taxes should be charged less in admission fees. However, this would be difficult to administer, since non-Thais who pay Thai taxes would have to be charged the same as Thais.
Also, as Mr Knobel notes, being charged extra is infuriating to tourists, whom we badly want to attract. In my travels around the world, I’ve never seen such blatant discrimination as we have in Thailand. In Hawaii, Las Vegas, London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Tokyo, I have paid no more than the locals.
I suggest that everyone, whether Thai or foreign tourist, be charged the same fees at our beauty spots, plus a deposit for a litter bag – repayable in full when the bag is returned full.
Burin Kantabutra
