The Tourism and Sports Ministry plans to offer free domestic flight tickets to 200,000 foreign arrivals to boost tourism nationwide over a three-month period.
The ministry expects the give-away to generate 8.8 billion baht in revenue from a budget of 700 million baht, but it still needs cabinet approval.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said the campaign was themed
“Buy International, Free Thailand Domestic Flights”,
and would encourage foreign tourists to visit secondary destinations.
Foreigners holding an international flight ticket would be able to claim one round-trip domestic flight ticket with 20 kilogrammes of baggage for free on six Thai carriers.
The programme is scheduled to run from September to November, with a government subsidy of 1,750 baht per one-way ticket, or 3,500 baht for a round-trip ticket, for each tourist.
VP of the Chiang Mai Chamber of Commerce, said the campaign would help tourism to some extent, although the arrival flow was already strong during high season.
The campaign would be more effective if launched during the low season.
He suggested the government allocate funds to help domestic airfares, which remain a barrier for travellers because of the high cost.
Northeastern provinces may not benefit as much from this scheme, as they are not top destinations for foreign tourists, even though Buri Ram and Ubon Ratchathani have domestic flights from Bangkok.
Rungroj Santadvanit, president of the lower northeastern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, said.
Apart from free flights, Mr Rungroj said authorities should plan marketing strategies and activities tailored to target markets of each location.
He said northern provinces should attract more nature lovers from Australia and New Zealand, and the South should draw beach-loving visitors from Scandinavia.
As of Aug 17, 20.8 million foreign tourists have visited Thailand.
This year, a decrease of 7% year-on-year.
The largest market was China with 2.9 million arrivals.