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The southern Thailand coastal province of Trang boasts lush islands and an emerald cave but has long been overshadowed by neighbouring foreign tourist hotspots Phuket and Krabi.<\/p>\n
The government, as part of an effort to stimulate the economy, wants to change that by providing tax incentives to jump-start domestic travel, particularly to second-tier provinces.<\/p>\n
Sagging foreign visitors to Thailand is compounding woes caused by US tariffs and a relatively high baht. To offset some of the softness, the government\u2019s local tourism campaign offers as much as 30,000 baht (US$927) in tax deductions for Thais packing their suitcases from October 29 to December 15.<\/p>\n
So far, though, Trang businesses are not seeing a surge of local visitors taking advantage of the travel tax perk. The programme is too short, some observers say, and the nation\u2019s sour economy and large household debt are causing Thais to reduce spending on non-essentials such as travel.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings have been pretty quiet recently even though there were inquiries about bookings,\u201d said Chotirot Rodmuang, marketing manager of Jaravee Tour, which provides tours of Trang\u2019s islands such as Ko Kradan. November and December reservations are down about 50 per cent year on year, Chotirot said.<\/p>\n
About 1.3 million Thai nationals visited Trang during the first nine months of 2025, up 3.8 per cent year on year and generating 6.7 billion baht of tourism revenue, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports data.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome travellers aren\u2019t that interested in the deduction because their annual income may be below the tax brackets so they aren\u2019t liable to pay taxes,\u201d said Kedkanok Tanaengchuan, manager of Ruarasada Hotel in Trang. It also takes a considerable amount of time for businesses to be integrated into the government\u2019s deduction programme, she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n