Entry Fee (next try)

[10tazione]

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/tourism/2025/10/03/thailand-to-collect-300-baht-entry-fee-from-foreign-tourists/

Thailand will begin collecting a 300-baht ($9.20) entry fee from foreign tourists within the first four months of the new government

...
“The entry fee can be viewed from two perspectives: while tourists may see it as an added burden, the government will ensure they understand that the additional 300 baht will improve their safety, welfare, tourism infrastructure, and convenience,” he said

[emiel1981]

How many times have we heard this? Seeing is believing.
And the discussion about an entry fee deterring tourists from coming to Thailand. Sigh. Someone who's put off by a $10 entry fee? I don't believe it. If you can't afford that entry fee, how can you even go on vacation?

[iendo]

2 hours ago, emiel1981 said:

How many times have we heard this? Seeing is believing.
And the discussion about an entry fee deterring tourists from coming to Thailand. Sigh. Someone who's put off by a $10 entry fee? I don't believe it. If you can't afford that entry fee, how can you even go on vacation?

I agree!

But I also acknowledge that my $50 flight back from Ho Chi Minh City will now be 20% more expensive. One of the great things about living in Thailand that it is a great hub from which to make short trips to neighbouring countries. Not even that long ago there were crazy deals to fly with Airasia and such. Now, if you see a $5 or $10 promotion, you best believe there is an extra $50 of surcharges on top, each way. So from that perspective it is a pity. 

[floridarob]

18 hours ago, emiel1981 said:

Someone who's put off by a $10 entry fee? I don't believe it. If you can't afford that entry fee, how can you even go on vacation?

There are a lot more taxes/fees already added in the plane tix 🙄

[jimmie50]

Quote

 

I assume this new fee will be rolled into the airfare price rather than something that is collected when passing through immigration upon entry?  

[floridarob]

13 minutes ago, jimmie50 said:

I assume this new fee will be rolled into the airfare price rather than something that is collected when passing through immigration upon entry?  

https://loyaltylobby.com/2025/10/05/clown-show-continues-thailands-newest-tourism-minister-chases-the-300-baht-tourism-fee-yet-again/?omhide=true

[zoomomancs]

14 hours ago, floridarob said:

https://loyaltylobby.com/2025/10/05/clown-show-continues-thailands-newest-tourism-minister-chases-the-300-baht-tourism-fee-yet-again/?omhide=true

If the airlines won't co-operate they could make it an add on to the tdac but that would take more than 4 months. Tourists don't want another qr code or a queue to pay at the airports.

[floridarob]

9 hours ago, zoomomancs said:

Tourists don't want another qr code or a queue to pay at the airports.

Bali has like 4 different ones to do for tourists.... Visa, Immigration, Health and some extra tourism tax that supposedly no one checks, it's like $10usd I think, when I enter thru Jakarta I don't do that one, entering Bali, I do, just in case 

[ChristianPFC]

On 10/4/2025 at 11:14 PM, emiel1981 said:

Someone who's put off by a $10 entry fee? I don't believe it. If you can't afford that entry fee, how can you even go on vacation?

It's the principle. It feels like someone is trying to fuck me, but not in a good way. 

"entry fee...improve their safety, welfare, tourism infrastructure, and convenience" who believes this? It's just a money grab!

Same with visa vs. visa free entries. When I started traveling in SEAsia, I went to countries with visa-free entries (for German passport) first. 

[PeterRS]

Re @iendo's earlier post, with those cheap special offers, as he states be prepared to pay a good deal more because chances are things will go wrong.

I realise that millions fly Air Asia and are happy with the airline. I ended up having so many cancellations and lengthy delays that now I just refuse to fly them. And judging from Skytrax comments, many thousands are furious with them. Once my bf and I had flown to Penang for a long week-end. As the airport is about an hour away from our hotel near Batu Ferringhi and there was only a morning or late evening flight back to Bangkok, we were up around 5:00am to get there on time. A long queue had formed but no staff. Eventually another passenger directed my attention to a sign. Flight cancelled! Everyone rebooked on 9:00pm flight!

In KL for a fun few days, I had a 1:00pm flight back to BKK where I had an important business dinner over a contract. In the queue for the flight, I happened to be looking at the departure board above the check-in desk. Suddenly that 1:00pm departure flipped over to 4:30 pm departure. No announcement. No nothing! Since my dinner was vital, I had no alternative but to race over to the main terminal and purchase a very expensive ticket on TG.

The worst, though, were flights to and from Hanoi.  Months earlier I had purchased one of these crazy ultra-cheap returns departing on the evening flight on a Wednesday with the return flight later on the Saturday evening. That gave me almost three full days in Hanoi and I booked a non-refundable 2-night stay deal at a good hotel and one night in Halong Bay. Some weeks later later I was invited to speak at a Conference in Singapore on the Monday and Tuesday. So I booked Cathay Pacific's cheap once daily flight which would be returning to BKK around 2:45 pm leaving me about 3 1/2 hours before the Air Asia flight.

Two weeks before the Hanoi flight, I decided to check Air Asia's site in case there had been any change in the departure time. It was only then I discovered the evening flights had been cancelled. Without ever informing me, they had booked me on to morning flights. But that Wednesday I'd still be in Singapore when the flight departed. I was livid. But of course with low cost airiines there is nothing you can do. Just check the conditions of carriage! I ended up having to cancel the Air Asia flights without getting a refund, take Tiger Air from Singapore to Hanoi and then an expensive Air France return on the Saturday evening after returning from Halong Bay.

I complained several times to Air Asia's head office in KL. The first was by phone. After holding for about 35 minutes, someone answered and said she'd put me through to the relevant department. The lady whom I then spoke to said she had no idea why I had been put shrough to her. She was a gate agent. "They aways do this", she explained. After several letters, I just gave up. Some weeks later Thai Air Asia called to offer me compensation of a one way ticket to Chiang Mai which I'd have to use within 3 months. I was very far from polite in my answer!