Issued under the Tourism Business and Guide Act of 2008, the minimum price initiative was approved by the Tourism Business and Guide Committee on Nov 14, said Department Director-General Taweesak Wanichcharoen.
Mr Taweesak said the committee is working on some details, but they agreed to set the lowest prices for a three-day, two-night outbound tour package at around B1,600 to B9,000 per person, excluding air tickets.
For inbound tour packages, minimum prices will vary based on the market and operation costs of travel agencies. The minimum charge for a tour to a short-haul market or from Southeast Asian countries is set at B800 per person per night, rising to B1,000 and B1,500 for those from Asian and other countries, respectively.
Minimum prices for a one-day domestic tour package is set at B300 per person, and B600 per night for overnight trips.
Tassanee Kiatkamchornchai, honorary secretary general of the Thai Travel Agents Association, said the move is likely to raise the standard of the travel industry but may not ease the price war nor prevent malpractice by tour operators.
Some crooked operators offer very cheap tour prices to attract clients and then abandon them, she said.
Ms Tassanee said tourists should consider higher quality tour packages rather than cheap tour packages, which enable operators to add value to services.
The number of Thais taking overseas trips is on the rise. During January to September, some 9.85 million Thais took outbound trips, up 10.08% from the same period of last year, according to the Immigration Bureau.
Vichit Prakobgosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), supported the minimum price rule, saying it would assure foreign travellers of quality and reasonable tourism services in Thailand.
Standardising the prices for tour packages is the first step in dealing with zero-dollar tours which have damaged Thai tourism, Mr Vichit said.
He suggested state agencies support tour operators who comply with the rule which would eventually help improve the current tepid tourism.
Tourists who travel with Atta members dropped in all markets as of Nov 20 to 4.78mn, a 4.24% decline year-on-year.
Arrivals from China were down by 3.35% to 2.76mn, Vietnam 300,168 (-1.77%), South Korea 193,708 (-10.5%) and Japan 156,865 (-4.29%). Meanwhile, the India market grew by 5.12% to 252,022 tourists.
Phuriwat Limthavornrat, president of the Association of Domestic Travel, said domestic tourism is the least affected by scammers. However, standardising prices will help tourists verify and avoid being cheated by illegal tour agents who offer prices lower-than-minimum rates. In addition, it will promote operators who provide quality tourism products.
Read original story here.