A country beloved by Brits is planning to offer thousands of free flights to tourists. Thailand hopes to boost its tourism numbers in the off-season by tempting people in with free travel.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry has proposed the ‘Buy International, Free Thailand Domestic Flights’ campaign. From September to November, the government will give domestic plane tickets to 200,000 international visitors entering the country. Tourists just need to arrive in Thailand by plane (not boat or bus) to qualify, and the Government will give them one-way tickets (costing up to £40) or return tickets (costing up to £80). They are hoping the free tickets will encourage tourists to explore the country beyond the main visitor hotspots. These tickets all get 20kg luggage and can be applied to Thai Airways, Thai AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air, and Thai Vietjet. This scheme won’t be open to those who have already booked their flights to Thailand.
Tourism and sports minister Sorawong Thienthong told The Nation: “The initiative aims to attract at least 200,000 foreign tourists, covering destinations across Thailand, with a particular focus on Unesco-designated cities, popular tourist spots and key destinations nationwide.”
The proposal has not gone through just yet; it still needs to be approved by the cabinet. It is forecast to generate £200 million in revenue from a budget of £15.9 million. But not all are on board with the scheme, as locals aren’t eligible to take part.
This comes after the Bangkok Post revealed that just 20.8 million international tourists have visited Thailand so far this year, half of the government’s goal of 40 million.
This is a 7% decrease on last year’s visitor numbers, 35 million. Chinese tourists make up the majority of visitors, with 2.9 million arrivals this year.
Japanese Airlines announced a similar scheme last year, offering certain international passengers from select countries complimentary domestic flights to any location in Japan.
As part of this scheme, there was a £75 stopover fee for travellers coming in from the US, Canada, Mexico and China if they stayed in their first destination for more than 24 hours.
