Thailand is planning to give away thousands of free domestic flights to tourists

Published on 22/08/2025 - 13:59 GMT+2

Longing to acquisition Thailand’s achromatic sands, lush jungles and buzzing thoroughfare markets? Now mightiness beryllium a awesome infinitesimal to book your adjacent getaway.

Thailand is readying to springiness distant free home flights for 200,000 world visitors complete nan adjacent 3 months.

The campaign, dubbed ‘Buy International, Free Thailand Domestic Flights,’ would let eligible overseas visitors to declare a free round-trip formation wrong nan state erstwhile booking world flights straight done airlines aliases recreation agencies.

Backed by nan country’s tourism ministry, nan strategy is group to tally from September to November, if it receives furniture approval. The authorities would subsidise up to THB 1,750 (€40) for a one-way summons aliases THB 3,500 (€80) for a round-trip. Each summons would besides travel pinch 20kg of checked baggage.

Why does Thailand want to springiness distant free flights?

The extremity is to push travellers beyond perennial favourites for illustration Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai and towards under-the-radar provinces rich | pinch temples, breathtaking culinary traditions and lesser-visited beaches and islands.

Six aerial carriers – Thai Airways, Thai AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and Thai Vietjet – are already connected board.

Officials dream nan promotion will make astir THB 8.8 cardinal (€200 million) successful gross from a THB 700 cardinal (€16 million) budget.

There are caveats, though. Only aerial arrivals suffice (visitors entering by autobus aliases vessel are excluded), and existing bookings made earlier nan programme launches won’t count.

Thailand’s tourism woes persist

The free flights are nan latest effort to revive an manufacture that has been nan country’s economical motor for decades.

In 2019, astir 40 cardinal overseas visitors flocked to Thailand to lounge connected tropical beaches, feast connected fragrant curries aliases dive into Bangkok’s world-class nightlife.

That grounds has yet to beryllium matched. Thailand group a extremity of 39 cardinal arrivals successful 2025, but it is group to autumn short. The Bank of Thailand precocious trim its forecast to 33 cardinal visitors, down from 37.5 cardinal earlier this year. So far, 20.8 cardinal world arrivals person been recorded, a 7 per cent driblet from past year.

Part of nan problem is perception. Recent convulsive incidents successful Bangkok person made headlines, while nan border flare-up pinch Cambodia past period further dented Thailand’s image arsenic a safe, carefree destination.

Meanwhile, nan Tourism Authority of Thailand has struggled to reconcile its talk of “quality complete quantity” pinch eager erstwhile targets, specified arsenic 68.5 cardinal arrivals by 2028.

Casinos, visa schemes and delayed fees purpose to lure backmost visitors

The authorities has rolled retired different sweeteners, delaying entry fees, lifting visa restrictions for Chinese visitors – Thailand’s largest marketplace – and creating digital nomad visas to pull distant workers. It has moreover floated building casinos.

The free-flight strategy whitethorn beryllium nan astir attention-grabbing move yet. But for now, would-be visitors mightiness want to clasp disconnected until nan furniture signs disconnected connected nan scheme earlier booking their Thailand holidays.