Proposed B1,000 departure tax would apply to air travellers leaving Thailand, including Phuket

Thailand is considering a departure tax of B1,000 for every air departure, a proposal that would also cover travellers leaving the country from Phuket if enacted.

The Revenue Department has published the principles of the proposed Departure Tax Act, which would apply to people of all nationalities. Public consultation runs from 30 September to 29 October 2026.

The initial rate would be B1,000 for air travel. Land and sea departures would initially be exempt, while the law would set a maximum rate of B5,000 per departure. Airlines or ticket agents would collect the charge with the fare.

The proposal would replace the approach under Thailand’s 1983 legislation. The earlier measure applied to Thai nationals and foreigners with permanent residence, but the Revenue Department says the existing regime is currently exempt in all cases. The former rates were B1,000 by air and B500 by land or sea; land and sea travel was exempted from 1 May 1986 and air travel from 1 July 1991.

Proposed exemptions broadly follow those for the airport Passenger Service Charge. They include specified members of the royal family and their entourages, the Supreme Patriarch, foreign heads of state, official government guests, children aged two or under, certain transit passengers who remain in designated areas and crew travelling on duty without paying a fare.

If approved, the act would take effect 180 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. Travellers who bought tickets before the effective date would not be liable for the tax, even if they departed afterwards. Unpaid tax could attract a penalty of up to twice the amount due, plus a surcharge of 1.5 percent a month.

The proposed departure tax is separate from a proposed B450 arrival charge for eligible foreign visitors. Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul discussed the arrival fee on 6 October, with air arrivals expected to be covered first and land and sea collection to follow about a year later. The measure still requires approval from the National Tourism Policy Committee and the Cabinet.

Officials say the arrival fee would fund visitor insurance, tourism-site restoration and development, and the Tourism Promotion Fund. They estimate that at least about B8 billion a year could remain for the fund after collection and insurance costs, while also citing foreign-patient medical costs of around B7 billion a year pending further checks with public-health agencies.

Both measures remain proposals and are not in force. Critics have warned that the combined costs could discourage visitors, while private-sector participants have questioned the need for bundled insurance when more than 80 percent of tourists from Europe and the United States already hold travel insurance, according to the source report.