(TAN): Thailand is considering letting expats pay local prices for entry to national parks and other tourist attractions, where foreign tourists usually have to pay a lot higher, media reports said.
“The key factor is we have to treat expats like locals, without discrimination or a negative attitude towards foreigners,” Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said.
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Admission fees at national parks and tourist attractions are often drastically higher for expats than they are for Thai nationals. Foreigners sometimes even pay 10 times more than Thais.
The move is intended to let expats save money, which they can use to travel more domestically. Thailand is now largely closed to international tourists.
TAT will introduce ID cards for expats, which will let tourist destinations differentiate them from tourists.
TAT has lately been focussing on its large expat population. It is organising the ‘Expat Travel Deal 2020’ to offer domestic tourism promotions for expatriate residents to encourage them to travel more domestically.
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The free event will take place from September 11 to 13, from 1000 to 2200 hours at Quartier Gallery, EmQuartier shopping mall in Bangkok.
TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said, “Thailand has a large expatriate population…. TAT and our strategic partners would like to encourage expats to travel further.”
