Thailand plans to offer free plane tickets to 200,000 foreign tourists to boost tourism for three months.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports hopes the initiative will generate 8.8 billion baht in revenue from a budget of 700 million baht , but it still needs government approval.
Free flights to boost tourism
Airplane of the Thai Airways company.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said the campaign, titled "Buy International, Fly Domestic Free in Thailand," would encourage foreign tourists to visit secondary destinations.
Japan used a similar strategy by offering free plane tickets to tourists earlier this year.
How does the program work?
Planes from various airlines in Thailand. Photo: Fl360 Aero.
He said foreigners with an international flight ticket could get a free return ticket with 20 kg of baggage on six Thai airlines:
Thai Airways, Thai AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet.
Free tickets will be offered to tourists who book their international flights directly with airlines or online travel agencies.
"This is an exclusive campaign for foreign visitors who have not yet booked their tickets," said Mr. Sorawong.
A budget of 700 million baht for 200,000 tickets
Tourists at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Photo: Bangkok Post.
The ministry plans to submit the project to the cabinet for approval next week, requesting 700 million baht from the central budget, he added.
The program is expected to run from September to November, with a government subsidy of 1,750 baht (46.14 euros) per one-way ticket, or 3,500 baht (92.29 euros) for a round-trip ticket, for each tourist.
Mixed reactions among tourism stakeholders
Chiang Mai city. Photo: Nuwat Chanthachanthuek
Punlop Saejew, vice president of the Chiang Mai , said the campaign would help tourism to some extent, even though the flow of visitors was already high during the peak season.
He added that the campaign would be more effective if launched during the off-season.
Mr. Punlop suggested the government allocate funds to help finance domestic airfares, which remain a barrier to travelers due to their high cost.
See also: Flights in Thailand: Why ticket prices are expected to remain high in 2025
Rungroj Santadvanit, president of the northeast branch of the Thai Hotel Association, said the northeastern provinces might not benefit as much from the program because they are not prime destinations for foreign tourists.
Although Buri Ram and Ubon Ratchathani are served by domestic flights from Bangkok .
In addition to free flights, Mr. Rungroj said authorities should develop marketing strategies and activities tailored to each region's target markets.
For example, Buri Ram should promote sports and marathons as a sports tourism center, while Ubon Ratchathani could highlight attractions along the Mekong River.
Mr. Rungroj said:
"The northern provinces are expected to attract more nature lovers from Australia and New Zealand, and the south is expected to attract beach-loving Scandinavian visitors."
“More importantly, the government must ensure the safety of tourists and clearly communicate where it is safe to visit, especially in the context of the current tensions on the Thai-Cambodian border.”
See: Thailand-Cambodia conflict: areas prohibited to travelers as of August 16, 2025
As of August 17, 20.8 million foreign tourists visited Thailand this year, a 7% decrease from last year.
See: Thailand: A strong baht and insecurity hamper tourism
The largest market was China, with 2.9 million arrivals.
Tourism groups believe that promotional gifts could help "to some extent."
See also:
Vietnam: The new economic tiger that threatens Thailand
Thailand: Shocking attack deals new blow to tourism
Cannabis, motorbikes, thefts: Phuket under pressure to save its tourism
Thailand: Tourism collapses due to conflict with Cambodia
Thailand postpones tourist tax due to drop in tourism
Source: Bangkok Post
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3 comments
So much the better for these 200,000 tourists who will see their spending on their holidays in Thailand drop, but, once again, this is a temporary, short-term action (3 months) and which will only have a very brief impact on the tourism statistics at the end of 2025...
But after this period from September to the end of November, Thailand will fall back into its "normal" rhythm, taking into account a high season which risks seeing its statistics for December and January decrease accordingly if, in the perspective of a significant success of this promotion, a certain percentage of tourists who were planning to book for the December-January period, bring forward their holidays to benefit from this action of free domestic flights, which is not a foregone conclusion!
Yet another sticking plaster on a wooden leg that will pump its funding from public finances to try to save disappointing annual tourism statistics for 2025.
But no measures for encouraging long-term prospects for Thai national tourism players to recover their sector from the brink of recession compared to 2024:
Acting for an attractive exchange rate for the baht, renewal and subsidies for the improvement and restructuring and adaptation to higher standards in the long term of the hotel and accommodation stock in relation to demand, legislation to regulate maximum prices for the different categories of accommodation and related services, particularly in the luxury rental niche, improvement of reception, assistance and support structures in tourist districts, fight against scams by certain actors involved in transport, vehicle rental, tourist services and activities, fight against delinquency and urban crime, active policing and preventive actions for the safety of people and property...
And the list could be extended, as the grievances of local officials living from tourism on the ground are numerous and rarely heard at the highest levels of the State, they who have been sounding the alarm since the second half of 2024, without the political decision-makers concerned taking all the different aspects of the problem into a global synergy of actions to find and implement sustainable and effective structural solutions in the long term, speculating on the long term really not being a Thai specialty!!!
OK, this is just a project.
I wonder if the international flight can be taken with all airlines?
And how can it work? (more like 18,000?).
In Japan, this was done with only one company.
I hope it won't be like the 300 baht tax!
Indeed, GG, one can wonder if this operation will really see the light of day and how it will be managed!!!
When we see the social and financial catastrophe of the "10,000 baht" operation for 50 million Thais, which turned into a damp squib after a first wave of payments to around 8 million people, which was then reworked to benefit 15-20 year olds, leaving out the most deprived elderly people, then the pure and simple abandonment of any payment in the face of the financial abyss of public debt generated by this operation, which completely missed its economic recovery objectives, we are entitled to wonder what is going on in the minds of the political and financial leaders of this country when it comes to thinking about promotional campaigns of this scale...
Even the “petit pois” (pea) has to be searched for a long time to find it…