The cabinet on Tuesday approved two additional measures to encourage Thais to travel with the aim of boosting domestic tourism, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said.
Together with the 1,000-baht cash handout and the cash rebate under the economic stimulus measures, the two new campaigns, namely "Visit Thailand With 100 Baht" and "Shocking Price Weekday Travel", will help stimulate domestic travel, the minister said.
The two new measures will require 116 million baht drawn from the 2019 fiscal budget, Mr Phiphat said, adding that the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will explain the details later.
Under the "Visit Thailand With 100 Baht'' campaign, the TAT will collaborate with operators of tourism companies, hotels, airlines, spas, tourist destinations and other related associations to offer a total of 40,000 travel packages for a special price of 100 baht each, Mr Phiphat said.
The "Shocking Price Weekday Travel" campaign will target wealthier travellers, according to deputy government spokesman Traisuree Taisarankul.
She said the TAT will join hands with the hotel industry, tourist companies, airlines, luxury brand products, department stores, spas, hospitals, restaurants, jewellery shops, amusement parks and other services to offer special discounts of up to 70%, along with special privileges and programmes, to those who travel on weekdays.
Last Monday, the government rolled out its 1,000-baht cash giveaway and 15% cash rebate scheme which is part of the government's 316-billion-baht stimulus package
The so-called chim, shop, chai (Taste, Shop, Spend) scheme received overwhelming public interest on the first day of registration, with the first 1 million recipients signing up in less than 14 hours.
Hit by the sagging economy and geopolitical tensions, Thailand's tourism industry grew at a slow pace in the first eight months of the year.
Domestic tourism rose by 1.3% year-on-year to 103.53 million trips, while international arrivals stood at 26.5 million, up 2.6%.
Accordingly, the Tourism and Sports Ministry has cut its forecast of foreign arrivals to 39-39.8 million this year, down from the 40.2 million predicted earlier.
The TAT is confident that the goal remains achievable, as tourism is approaching peak season and more campaigns will be launched to stimulate the market.
