Thailand is still considering its long-planned increase of the foreign tourist entry fee from 300 baht, Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said on Wednesday.

He said the tourism tax — first proposed in 2020 but never implemented — should be higher than 300 baht because of inflation and rising insurance costs, in order to extend coverage at private hospitals.

The majority of the revenue from tourism fees would be allocated to tourist insurance, with the remainder used to maintain tourist attractions and improve infrastructure.

He said his ministry is now finalising details of the fee collection method to ensure it does not affect traveller sentiment.

He said there are two collection options: via airline tickets or through the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) system.

Airlines have said they cannot discriminate by taxing foreign passengers and excluding Thais, which means the government might have to collect the tax from all passengers and allow Thais to obtain refunds via an application later.

The alternative would be to levy the tax through the TDAC system, which all foreign visitors are required to submit upon arrival.

In any case, the final amount of the fee will depend in large part on the projected costs of accident insurance and treatment at private hospitals.

Unpaid medical bills by foreign visitors cost Thai hospitals around 2.5 billion baht per year, studies have found.

The Thai Hotels Association said the ministry needs to clarify what types of incidents would be covered by the insurance fund. 

For instance, authorities should assess whether the policy will also cover events such as floods, train construction accidents or motorcycle crashes involving riders without licences.