The new co-payment tourism promotion programme for northern destinations in Thailand will certainly need an upgrade in terms of both the amount of subsidies from the government and number of tourists to receive them, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said on Wednesday.
The total budget for this programme, Aeo Nuea Khon La Khrueng (travel to the North at half prices), will unlikely reach 24 billion baht as in the past programme because the new one will be split into five phases for continuous economic stimulus effects, he said.
He was responding to a remark by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra who wants the tourism co-payment scheme to be expanded in both the amount of government subsidies offered and the tourist quota.
The premier found the promised maximum subsidy per tourist – at this point proposed to be 400 baht – and the quota set at 10,000 to be too small, said Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong on Tuesday, citing his recent discussions with the premier about the scheme.
The North has been badly impacted by waves of flooding and is now in need of income-generating measures, while the forthcoming cold season is normally a high tourism season in upper Thailand.
The Ministry of Finance is still waiting for final details about the proposed tourism promotion programme from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, including the amount of budget required, said Mr Julapun.
The exact amount of funding that will be required for this project has not been discussed formally as of yet, while the 24-billion-baht budget mentioned previously was simply referred to because that was used in the past programme, he said.
If the new budget turns out to too little, the Ministry of Finance’s budget should be sufficient, he said, adding that if more is needed it could come from the government’s central budget.
While awaiting the final details of the new programme, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has updated its tourism information database for visitors who are interested in travelling to the North under this programme, Mr Julapun said.
