The cabinet yesterday approved a revised subsidy scheme to stimulate domestic tourism, expecting 112,000 eligible people to exercise their rights and generate 12.5 billion baht worth of spending.
According to Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, the cabinet agreed to a fifth phase of the "Rao Tiew Duay Kan" (We Travel Together) hotel subsidy campaign worth 3.95 billion baht to promote domestic tourism, as proposed by the ministry.
Of the total budget, 2.01 billion baht is allocated for the fifth phase of the campaign to promote domestic tourism for a total of 560,000 rooms.
Another 1.93 billion baht goes to stimulate overseas and domestic tourism activities, aiming to help revitalise the economy.
The We Travel Together hotel subsidy scheme was launched in July 2020 to stimulate local tourism, which was clobbered by the first wave of the pandemic.
Participants in the scheme pay 60% of the normal hotel room rate, with the government responsible for the balance as well as an e-voucher worth 600 baht per room per day to be spent at shops such as food outlets and traditional Thai massage venues participating in the scheme.
The revised scheme caps spending at 3,000 baht per person, while the number of room nights is reduced to five rooms per person per night from 10 rooms per person per night in the fourth phase.
According to Mr Phiphat, the fifth phase is expected to start in February, with more details of the scheme to be announced later.
La-iad Bungsrithong, board adviser for the Thai Hotels Association, said recently the We Travel Together scheme provides integral support for hotels and domestic tourists in terms of spending.
Mrs La-iad also urged the government to continue subsidising conference meetings that use hotel services and working to persuade large corporate and government agencies to hold meetings in the provinces.
These measures could be facilitated by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, she said.