Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong said the proposed budget will be reviewed by the Budget Bureau before being submitted to the Cabinet for approval on June 10, reports the Bangkok Post.
“In addition to tourism projects, the proposal includes other development projects overseen by other ministries, such as public toilets at tourism attractions,” he said.
He said his ministry would allocate more than B3bn to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for three projects: B1.7bn for the co-payment scheme for domestic tourists, B750 million to subsidise chartered and scheduled flights, and B800mn for online travel agents.
TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said these three projects were expected to generate B87-90bn for the industry.
As a shortage of flights remains an obstacle for the Chinese and other international markets, the TAT has adopted an airline-focused strategy to lift inbound traffic, she said.
The B750mn allocated for flights is forecast to generate B33.5bn in revenue from 790,000 arrivals from July 2025 to July 2026, according to the agency.
Of this budget, B350mn is allocated for the Chinese market, for which arrivals declined by an alarming 33% to 1.95mn in the first five months of this year. The goal is to gain an additional 140,000 tourists from 15 secondary cities in China, said Ms Thapanee.
The agency is partnering with both local and international airlines to open new routes and add more flights to Thailand. For example, Thai AirAsia X plans to start direct flights from Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan to Phuket during the upcoming cool season.
This week in Chiang Mai the TAT is hosting the Thailand Travel Mart Plus, the largest travel trade event in the country, featuring 406 buyers from 53 countries meeting with 450 local tourism operators.
Ms Thapanee said the event should generate B43bn in revenue for the Thai tourism industry, while showcasing the northern region to international markets, particularly tourists that might be unfamiliar with the area.
While the flow of Chinese tourists remains weak, she said travel agents in China are keen to increase tour packages to Thailand, as there were 97 buyers from the mainland, followed by 38 buyers from India and 22 from the UK.