Foreign travelers flying into Thailand will be charged an entry fee of 300 Baht (about $8.9) for each trip from June as the tourism booms, the tourism and sports minister revealed on Feb 15.

The levy will be half the amount, 150 Baht, for those international travelers who will be entering via land borders or seaports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn told local media after the Thai Cabinet approved the charges.

Yet travelers who will not stay in Thailand overnight will be exempted from the fee, he said. Details on how the fee will be collected are still unveiled.

The new policy is expected to collect about 3.9 billion Baht in fees within this year as a budget to provide health and accidental insurance for tourists during their stay in Thailand. Phiphat added that the fees will also be used to maintain the tourist attractions.

Local tourism authorities estimated that about 30 million international tourist arrivals will be witnessed in Thailand this year, nearly triple the number of 11.2 million last year. Before the COVID pandemic, the number peaked at about 40 million.