Thailand plans to introduce dual hotel price system for foreign tourists

The Thai tourism industry, which never gets tired to find new ways of extracting extra money from foreign visitors, has come up with a new idea that will highly likely stir some controversy.

Thailand’s tourism ministry plans to ask hotel operators to implement a dual-tariff structure under which foreign visitors may be charged rates similar to pre-pandemic days while locals may continue to enjoy discounted rates, Traisuree Taisaranakul, a government spokeswoman, said in a statement on July 6.

“This is to maintain our standards of rates and services for foreign tourists, which affects the perception of the country’s tourism brand,” Traisuree noted, adding that rates that have been reduced during Covid-19 will be maintained for Thais “to sustain the momentum of domestic tourism.”

Covid-19 discounts still on offer

Hotels in tourism hotspots such as Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui continue to offer huge discounts to draw back visitors after the pandemic pushed room occupancy rates to about 30 per cent.

While there was no immediate response to the proposal from hotel operators, the tourism ministry and the Tourism Authority of Thailand said they would soon hold talks with the Hotel Association of Thailand about the dual pricing plan, according to Traisuree.  

However, it remains to be seen whether this strategy will be welcomed by potential visitors.

The plan, in the eyes of critics, is an expansion of the dual-price strategy in Thailand that is widely imposed across the country, namely at national parks, various cultural sites and other places of interest for tourists where foreigners are charged sometimes as much as ten times what Thais pay for entry.

Dual-price system causes anger among foreigners

While the issue never crosses most Thai people’s minds, it can make foreigners feel angry or taken advantage of. In fact, the Thai pricing is almost always written in Thai letters and numbers, so that tourists with no knowledge of the language don’t even know that they are paying a higher price. But it also raises the suspicion that the Thai operators of a tourism site might seek to conceal something.

Knowing tourists and long-term expats – they also have to pay higher ticket prices – have criticised the dual-pricing strategy as “racist” and for causing anger among visitors. It would also tarnish Thailand’s reputation as a tourism destination, they say.

There are even websites devoted to this phenomenon. One popular site, 2PriceThailand, advocates for abolishing the dual price system and teaches foreigners Thai numbers so that they can better know when they are entering a place that employs a dual pricing system, whether overtly or covertly.

While Thailand has scrapped all Covid-19-related travel restrictions, the tourism sector is still reeling from heavy losses accumulated during the pandemic. The nation expects 9.3 million foreign arrivals this year, a fraction of the 40 million tourists it received in 2019.