Prime Minister seeks greater impact in the North
PUBLISHED: October 21, 2024 at 07:04
Tourists visit Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai. Narumon Kasemsuk
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to discuss with the Ministry of Finance the increase in the budget of travel allowance program aimed at mitigating flood impact for tourism Northern companies.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said last week that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra held a meeting to discuss economic and tourism recovery measures, including how to improve existing ones.
The meeting took place after Mr Sorawong's visit to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, which were badly damaged by floods. He said that during the meeting, the Prime Minister expressed concerns over the inadequacy of the budget, questioning the effectiveness of the project due to the limited budget.
Mr Sorawong said he planned to discuss the issue with Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat, proposing either an increase in the number of eligible people or an increase in the subsidy amount via the central budget.
The project is expected to open for registration on November 1. The supplemental budget amount and project details are expected to be finalized this week, he said.
Targeting 17 flood-affected provinces, the ministry had previously proposed a subsidy program in the form of a co-payment of up to 400 baht per trip for 10,000 tourists.
Mr Sorawong said this “quick win” tactic could be immediately allocated from a 4 million baht budget from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). About 70 percent of the grant budget would be allocated for trips to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, and 30 percent to other provinces, he said.
The budget is small because the government initially wants to attract domestic tourists from neighboring provinces, Mr Sorawong said.
“Some hotels in Chiang Mai have resumed service faster than expected,” he said. “Only 10% of all areas were affected, but some tourists were worried about visiting these destinations after watching the news.”
Mr Sorawong said the TAT was aggregating tourism products in its database and could link them to the government's new Thang Rath app.
The next tourism promotion is the Thailand Winter Festival, combining several events during the peak season to attract tourists to different cities.
Regarding the proposed restructuring of the “We Travel Together” program, which is planned for the upcoming low season, the ministry is discussing an appropriate budget with the Ministry of Finance, he said. During the pandemic, around 20 billion baht was used, but many cases of fraud still result from the scheme, Mr Sorawong said.
