The National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department has cut the entrance fees for foreigners to national parks countrywide in order to get more overseas tourists.
The reduction has been affected since the department got many complaints from foreign visitors that the fees are too high for them, compared with the poor facilities for tourists at the parks.
This reduction will be effected since Dec 1; the entrance fees for adult foreigners have been cut for half from 400 to 200 baht for the most popular parks, and by 75% for the less popular ones.
Among the most popular sites where the fees were cut by half for foreigners include the marine national parks of Mu Koh Lanta National in Krabi, Mu Koh Chang in Trat, Mu Koh Angthong in Surat Thani and Mu Koh Tarutao in Satun, Doi Suthep-Pui and Doi Inthanont in Chiang Mai, Jae Son in Lampang, Khao Phra Viharn in Si Sa Ket and KhaoYai in Nakhon Ratchasima.
But some famous sites are still remaining the same entrance fee for the foreign visitors such as Mu koh Surin and Mu Koh Similan where the entrance fees are still 400 baht for adult doreigners and 200 baht for children.
To gain more tourists to lesser-known national parks, such as Khao Lak-Ramru in Phangnga and Tap Lan in Prachin Buri, the rate for foreigners has been cut from 400 to 100 baht for adults and from 200 to 50 baht for children which were cut about 75% from the previous price in order to get more tourists first. But they also predict that the price will be getting high again since the sites become popular and been visited by many foreign visitors.
Department chief Chalermsak Wanichsombat said the fee adjustment was aimed at promoting Thailand tourism.
This news is not exactly 100% good news because while foreigners enjoyed a sharp reduction in national park entrance fees, locals will be charged more at some popular sites. It’s the truth that there is no change has no affect on some people and in this change of the foreign fee, the local people are affected. The local people have to pay double from the previous price they have to pay before such as if the previous price is 20 baht, from now on, the local people have to pay 40 baht instead.
Anyhow, the reduction of the entrance fee for foreign visitors is not affected only for the local people but also the department because the high rate can let the department be able to maintain the sites. The department claimed that lowering the entrance fees would only benefit tour operators because most of the tourists prefer to buy the package with the tour operators which also included the entrance fee. So the tour operators can charge and get profit from the reduction that the department has been made.
They also claimed that the reduction of the entrance fees would not make the Thailand tourism get more tourists only benefit for the tour operators, since after I read this article, I wonder why the department has to cut down the entrance fee since there is no benefit for majority.
Anyway, people say that this reduction will not last for long since the high rate for foreigners can keep the Thailand tourism stays alive and makes profit.
