Cabinet won't extend tour scheme

Local travel deals offered at the recent 'Thai Tiew Thai' fair. Photo by Somchai Poomlard
Local travel deals offered at the recent 'Thai Tiew Thai' fair. Photo by Somchai Poomlard

The cabinet has turned down a proposal from the Tourism and Sports Ministry to extend the Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) scheme scheduled to end on April 30.

Instead, the Tourism and Sports Ministry and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) were instructed to redesign the programme in order to prevent fraud or create new campaigns to stimulate domestic tourism, said government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri.

Launched in July 2020, the programme is part of government efforts to spur domestic travel, as foreign tourists are still barred from entering the country due to the pandemic.

Under the We Travel Together scheme, participants pay only 60% of normal room rates, with the government responsible for the rest.

The subsidy was initially capped at 3,000 baht per night for up to five consecutive nights in the first stage and has now been stretched to 10 nights.

Tourists also automatically receive an e-voucher for other expenses valued at 600 to 900 baht under the scheme.

The government now also helps pay 40% of air ticket prices at a maximum of 3,000 baht per person, up from 1,000 baht and 2,000 baht in the first few months of the scheme.

Mr Anucha said the government's planning unit, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), has advised that the scheme should cancel the e-voucher component, while the Tourism and Sports Ministry should change the scheme to prevent any fraud or design new programmes to boost domestic tourism.

Vocabulary

  • bar: to officially not allow someone to do something or go somewhere - ห้าม
  • cabinet: the group of government ministers who make and approve government policy - คณะรัฐมนตรี
  • campaign: a planned group of especially political, business or military activities which are intended to achieve a particular aim - การรณรงค์
  • cap: to have an upper limit; to have an upper limit on an amount of money that can be spent or borrowed - มีขีดสูงสุด
  • component: an individual feature or quality of something - ส่วนประกอบ
  • fraud: something (or someone) that deceives people by not being what it seems to be; bogus - ไม่แท้ การโกง การหลอกลวง
  • initially: at first - ในเบื้องต้น
  • plagued: caused a lot of problems for someone or something for a long period of time - ทำให้ยุ่งยาก ลำบากมานาน
  • scheme: a plan that is developed by a government or large organisation in order to provide a particular service for people - แผนการ โครงการ
  • spur: to cause something to happen - ก่อให้เกิด 
  • subsidy: an amount of money that a government or organisation pays to help to reduce the cost of a product or service - เงินชดเชยที่รัฐเป็นผู้จ่ายให้
  • voucher (noun): a printed piece of paper that can be used instead of money to pay for something, or that allows you to pay less than the usual price of something ใ - บสำคัญจ่าย
Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT

By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies as described in our privacy policy and cookies policy.

Accept and close

By continuing to use our site you consent to the use of cookies as described in our privacy policy and terms

Accept and close