The TAT plans to encourage tourists to book their trips without relying on this gimmick, as airfares for the high season continue to rise, said Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool, reports the Bangkok Post.
Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul has gained majority support from political parties as a candidate for prime minister, and the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the position today (Sept 5).
The Tourism and Sports Ministry has been run by the Pheu Thai Party since 2023, succeeding the Bhumjaithai Party, which led the ministry from 2019 to 2023.
"The TAT already submitted the ’Buy International, Free Thailand Domestic Flights’ programme to the cabinet secretariat. We hope the programme will be approved to fulfil very strong demand from travellers. However, the agency cannot rush the process," said Ms Thapanee.
She said if the caretaker government cannot approve the programme and there’s a change in the administration that requires the TAT to restart the process, it will not abandon this project.
The agency is ready to resubmit the project and remains confident the stimulus will benefit the tourism industry whenever it is implemented.
However, as the high season draws closer and domestic airfares continue to surge due to higher demand from both foreign and local travellers, Ms Thapanee said people planning to visit Thailand should not wait for this programme to be implemented.
"Tourists who only plan to visit major cities are not eligible for this scheme, as the B700 million programme is dedicated for second-tier cities," she said.
As of Aug 31, the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand tallied 21.8mn, down 7.16% year-on-year. Chinese and Malaysian markets had a combined share of 28%, with 3.09mn and 3.04mn tourists, respectively.
Ms Thapanee said short-haul markets are still swayed by an erosion of travel safety confidence.
Negative sentiment regarding Thai tourism in China has spread to other countries with close ties to the mainland, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam, which recently attracted both Chinese tourists and investors.
As the TAT brought Thai tourism operators to join the Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City 2025 this week, she said the event should help stimulate the Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam markets to reach 2.8mn arrivals this year.
Ms Thapanee said the TAT remains optimistic for the high season as it is preparing at least two major events in October, including China’s Golden Week celebration and the Diwali festival to attract the Indian market.