The tax concession is scheduled to end at the end of 2018.

Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat said that he had proposed to the Finance Ministry to extend the tax allowance until the end of next year. 

“The proposal is under consideration by the Finance Ministry, which wants to introduce more measures to make it easier for travellers to get the tax allowance,” said Weerasak. 

Currently each traveller is eligible for tax allowance up to Bt15,000 to cover cost of transportation and accommodation at secondary tourist destinations.

He claimed the tax allowance had proved effective in boosting economic activities in those provinces and it could help lower the income disparity between the rich and the poor.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said that the extension of the tax allowance would make the promotion of the tourism in those provinces much more successful. The Cabinet last December had approved the tax allowance for tourists to 55 provinces from January 1 to December 31, 2018. 

Yuthasak said the measure had helped highlight the potential of the lesser-known destinations to local and foreign tourist. Tourism in some provinces such as Chiang Rai, Chanthaburi and Satun have grown 9-10 per cent from last year compared to the usual 4 to 5 per cent growth, he said. In the first nine months this year, 60.10 million tourists visited those provinces, up 4.72 per cent year on year and generated Bt165.23 billion in income, up about 9 per cent. In September alone, 5.95 million local tourists travelled to less popular destinations, up 5.4 per cent from the same month last year, generating Bt15.56 billion in income.

The top three tourism income earners are Chiang Rai, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Udon Thani provinces while Nan, Loei and Buri Ram provinces saw quick growth in tourism revenue. Should the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet agree to the proposal, it would be part of many measures ranging from cash handouts to shopping tax allowance offered by the junta-backed government in the run-up to the general election next year. 

Critics have faulted the schemes as government measures to boost its political popularity in the run up to the election.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30360142