Tourism operators are concerned about the transparency of the Tourism Promotion Fund, which is estimated to have a budget of more than 13 billion baht from the 300-baht tourism fee collected from international visitors.

The cabinet this week approved collection of the fee, expected to start in June.

The Tourism and Sports Ministry is projected to collect 3.9 billion baht this year and more than 10 billion from 40 million visitors estimated for next year.

The president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents said fund management must be transparent and use checks and balances to avoid corruption or ineffective spending.

Another concern is fee collection from foreign arrivals at borders as those channels are the most susceptible to corruption.

According to the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the method of fee collection for entry by land could be kiosks at checkpoints for visitors to pay before immigration.

The president of the Thai Hotels Association said the total receipts from the fee collection after deducting expenses of around 50 baht per head for insurance would be huge, with careful policies needed to regulate the fund.