Thailand is looking at to boost tourism to reverse declining visitor numbers and is planning to introduce an initiative named “Buy international, Free Thailand Domestic Flights” offering free domestic flights to 200.000 international travellers.
The Southeast Asian country with this campaign is trying reverting a shump of 6% of its arrivals in the first seven months of 2025, a decline mainly due to a sharp drop in Chinese visitors, an intense competition from regional rivals like Japan and Vietnam, which are aggressively promoting their own tourism sectors, offering attractive alternatives for travellers, and China that is intensifying efforts to capture the lucrative tourism market, positioning tourism as a cornerstone of its economic recovery.
The country is gearing up to hand out free domestic flights aiming to attract international tourists beyond major hubs, and Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong announced on 20th August that he will ask the Cabinet for a THB 700 million, approximately US$19.5 million budget to launch the mentioned campaign “Buy International, Free Thailand Domestic Flights”.
The Minister said initiative could bring at leat 200.000 international tourists to various destinations beyond the popular Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket stating that the country wants travellers to visit and enjoy more places around the country than just big cities, pointing to UNESCO heritage sites and off - the - beaten - path hot spots as key targets.
Officials project the campaign could generate at least US$246 million in direct tourism spending and fuel a wider economic impact of THB21.8 billion, about US$609 million.
Under the plan, international travellers booking air tickets to Thailand through airlines’ websites, partner carriers, or online travel agents would receive two free domestic flight tickets, round trip or one way with a 20 – kilogram baggage allowance.
The Tourism Authority (TAT) will team up with six airlines, such as Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air, and Thai VietJet to make the promotion fly. Tickets subsidies will be capped at THB1.750, about US$49 per leg or THB3.500 equivalent to US$98 for a round trip.
The scheme if rapidly adopted could still start before the end of August, however travellers would be able to use the reward between September and November, just before the start of the peak season.
The Minister said to local media that the concept is not new. Japan implemented a similar scheme of free domestic flights to spread tourist traffic into secondary cities after the Covid - 19 pandemic. Thailand with its initiative has the purpose to boost tourism and the national economy, but also attracting travellers to discover the full beauty of the country.
Link
https://www.travelmole.com/news/thailand-free-domestic-flights-international-travelers/
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