Thailand plans a THB 450 entry fee and a THB 1,000 departure tax: what changes for tourists and residents

In brief

• Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports is preparing a THB 450 fee for foreign tourists arriving by air. The target is the first quarter of 2027.
• The fee for land and sea arrivals has been postponed for a year. Exemptions have not been decided.
• The Revenue Department is consulting on a draft departure tax: THB 1,000 at the start, with a legal ceiling of THB 5,000. Consultation runs until 29 October 2026.
• The departure tax would apply to everyone leaving on an international flight, including Thai citizens and foreign residents.
• Both charges are still drafts. Each needs government decisions and publication in the official gazette.

The THB 450 entry fee: where the draft stands

A tourist fee in Thailand has been debated for several years. In the current version a foreign tourist would pay THB 450 on entry. In the first phase the fee would be charged only to those arriving by air; for land and sea entry it has been postponed for a year. Part of the money would fund insurance covering tourists' medical expenses and death benefits, and the rest would go to a separate tourism development fund outside the annual budget.

Public consultation on the draft closed on 28 September 2026. According to the ministry, participants sent 5,954 responses: 80.5% backed the draft overall and 78.3% backed the THB 450 amount. On 6 October the draft was discussed at a meeting chaired by Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul. That meeting did not approve the fee: next the draft must go through the national tourism policy committee, the cabinet and publication in the official gazette.

The ministry's permanent secretary named early 2027 as the target, but that is a goal, not a date. After publication the authorities will have up to 180 days to launch. How the money will be collected has not been decided either: options include adding the fee to the air ticket, payment in an app, on a website or at a kiosk. Adding it to the ticket won the most support in the consultation, 36.3%, but no method has been formally chosen.

What this means for you. If you are flying to Thailand in 2026, there is no entry fee. If you are planning a trip for spring 2027, budget THB 450 per person and watch for an official announcement.

The THB 1,000 departure tax: who will it affect?

The second draft is prepared not by the tourism ministry but by the Revenue Department. It is a draft Departure Tax Act. Public consultation runs from 30 September to 29 October 2026. Unlike the entry fee, the departure tax would apply to all passengers on international flights: foreign tourists, foreign residents and Thai citizens.

At the start the rate would be THB 1,000 per departure by air. The exact amount would be set by ministerial regulation, but the law would set a ceiling of THB 5,000 per departure. Passengers leaving by land or sea would not be taxed in the first phase. Exemptions would follow the rules for the existing airport charge: among them children under two and transit passengers. Airlines and agents would collect the tax together with the ticket price.

The departure tax does not replace the existing airport charge already included in the ticket. It is an additional payment. According to the press, if adopted, the law would take effect 180 days after publication. The Revenue Department put a similar draft out for consultation in 2023, then with rates of THB 1,000 for air passengers and THB 500 for land and sea departures, but it never became law.

What this means for you. The departure tax will also affect people who live in Thailand permanently. If you often fly abroad from Thailand, once the law is adopted every trip will cost at least THB 1,000 more.

THB 1,450 per trip: what a tourist will pay

If both drafts are adopted, a foreign tourist who flies in and out will pay THB 1,450 in new charges per trip: 450 on entry and 1,000 on departure. This is on top of the existing charges already included in the air ticket.

For a family of four that is about THB 5,800 per trip. For a tourist who comes once a year the amount is noticeable but not critical. For those who fly out of Thailand often, for example residents who travel around the region, the departure tax will recur on every departure.

What this means for you. For planning trips in 2027, budget THB 1,450 per person per trip by air. If the departure tax is raised towards the ceiling, the amount may grow, but for now it is THB 1,000.

Decision calendar: 5 steps to the new charges

Both drafts go through several mandatory stages, and each has public milestones you can follow. For the entry fee the consultation is over; for the departure tax it is under way.

1. On 29 October 2026 public consultation on the departure tax draft ends.
2. The entry fee goes to the national tourism policy committee.
3. The Thai government must approve both drafts; as a law, the departure tax must also go through the legislative process.
4. Decisions are published in the Thai official gazette.
5. After publication the authorities have up to 180 days to launch the entry fee; for the departure tax, according to the press, the same period applies before entry into force.

Counting from the consultation that ended in September, early 2027 looks realistic for the entry fee but is not guaranteed. The departure tax is at an earlier stage: after consultation the draft may be changed or postponed, as happened in 2023.

What this means for you. Until a decision is published in the official gazette, neither charge applies. Watch for that step, not for officials' statements.

What charges does a tourist already pay?

Today a passenger on an international flight from Thailand already pays an airport service charge included in the ticket price. According to the press, it is about THB 1,120. The new departure tax would be charged on top of it, so total airport charges on departure could exceed THB 2,000.

Besides charges, visa rules affect the cost of a trip. Since September 2026 the visa-free stay for citizens of many countries has been cut to 30 days; details are in the article on the 30-day visa exemption. For those planning to live in Thailand longer, this makes choosing a long-term visa even more important than the new charges.

What this means for you. The new charges will raise the cost of a trip, but for those who live in Thailand choosing the right basis for stay matters more: a visa mistake costs more than any fee.

Why Thailand wants new charges

The authorities give three reasons. The first is unpaid medical bills: according to an estimate cited in the discussion, hospitals lose about THB 7 billion a year treating foreigners, although this figure covers more than tourists. Insurance funded by the tourist fee is meant to cover part of these costs.

The second is money for tourism development. After deducting collection and insurance costs, the ministry expects at least THB 8 billion a year. It plans to spend it on developing attractions, restoration, nature conservation and promoting the country. Businesses are asking for published rules on how the fund's income and spending will be accounted for.

The third is international practice. The minister noted that more than 80 countries and destinations charge tourism fees or taxes. Visitor numbers in Thailand are high: in the first nine months of 2026 the country received more than 22 million foreign visitors and over THB 1 trillion in tourism revenue.

What this means for you. The entry fee is designed as payment for insurance and tourism development, the departure tax as a source of budget revenue. They follow different logic, and different agencies decide on them.

Checking what changes for people who live in Thailand

The entry fee is designed for tourists. Whether holders of long-term visas and residence permits will be exempt has not been decided: exemptions are still being discussed, among others for border traders and frequent cross-border travellers. The departure tax, on the contrary, would by design apply to everyone, including Thai citizens and therefore foreign residents.

If you live in Thailand on a remote-work visa or another long-term basis and often fly to neighbouring countries, it is worth budgeting for the new charges. How to choose a basis for a long stay is described on the page on the DTV visa. We covered how the visa-free period changed in the article on the 30-day visa exemption.

What this means for you. For permanent residents the main question is the departure tax. The entry fee may not apply to them, but that will be clear only once exemptions are approved.

How such charges work in other countries

Tourist charges have long existed in many countries but work differently. In some it is a nightly hotel fee, in others a one-off entry charge, in others a departure tax in the ticket price. In the UAE, for example, the tourist fee is collected through hotels, as we covered in the article on the UAE tourist fee. A comparison of living conditions in the two countries is in the article UAE or Thailand.

Thailand has a clear example in South-East Asia: since February 2024 Bali has charged foreign tourists a levy of IDR 150,000, paid online or on arrival. Bali's experience showed that the main issue is not the amount but convenience of payment and enforcement: if the levy is easy to skip, collection falls short of expectations. That is why Thailand is debating whether to include the fee in the ticket.

What sets the Thai draft apart is that part of the fee would go directly to tourist insurance. If the mechanism works, it may reduce the risk of large medical bills for those who arrive without their own insurance. But participants in the discussion noted that more than 80% of tourists already arrive insured, so hospitals will need a system to check entitlement to payment.

What this means for you. The fee will not replace your own insurance. Even if part of the THB 450 goes to insurance, coverage will be limited, and full travel insurance will still be needed.

What travellers and residents should do

How this article was prepared

Information on the THB 450 fee follows the outcome of the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports meeting on 6 October 2026 and consultation results published in the press. Information on the departure tax follows the Thai Revenue Department's draft law put out for public consultation from 30 September to 29 October 2026, as reported by the press. The time to entry into force and the size of the existing airport charge are given as reported by the press. The combined amount is a BRIDGES calculation. Both charges are drafts, and final amounts and exemptions may change. This article does not replace advice on your own trip.