Travel subsidy scheme said to boost post-flood tourism in the north

The Tourism and Sports Ministry is considering increasing the budget for its tourism subsidy scheme to help tourism firms in the northern region recover from recent flood damage. Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong announced the plans following a meeting with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to discuss economic and tourism stimulus measures.

The meeting followed Sorawong’s visit to flood-hit Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The PM expressed concerns over the current budget’s adequacy, questioning the project’s effectiveness due to limited funds.

Sorawong plans to address these concerns with Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat. He will propose either increasing the number of eligible participants or expanding the tourism subsidy amount using the central budget.

Registration for the scheme is set to open on November 1. The final details and additional budget should be confirmed within the week, according to Sorawong.

The subsidy scheme, targeting 17 flood-affected provinces, initially proposed a co-payment system offering up to 400 baht per trip for 10,000 tourists. Sorawong described it as a “quick-win” tactic, with an immediate allocation from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) budget of 4 million baht. About 70% of the subsidy is earmarked for Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, with the remaining 30% for other provinces.

Sorawong explained that the government aims to attract domestic tourists from nearby provinces first.

“Some hotels in Chiang Mai have resumed service faster than expected…Only 10% of overall areas were impacted, but some tourists were worried about visiting these destinations after watching the news.”

Sorawong mentioned that the TAT is compiling tourism products into its database and may link them with the government’s new Thang Rath app.

The next major tourism promotion is the Thailand Winter Festival, designed to attract tourists to various cities during the high season, reported Bangkok Post.

Regarding the We Travel Together scheme redux, anticipated for the next low season, the ministry is discussing an appropriate budget with the Finance Ministry. During the pandemic, around 20 billion baht was utilised, but the scheme faced numerous fraud cases, Sorawong noted.