BANGKOK, 14 September 2026: Thailand’s proposed Thai Travel Plus, or Thai Tiew Thai Plus, scheme has an admirable objective: to encourage domestic tourism and spread tourism spending more widely across the country.
Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Pancharoenworakul says the proposal is expected to go before Cabinet on 22 September, with a government budget of around THB3.5 billion.
Under the latest proposal, the scheme will subsidise up to one million hotel room nights, with each eligible Thai traveller able to receive support for up to five nights. Accommodation support would be capped at THB2,000 per night, alongside digital vouchers intended to encourage spending at restaurants, attractions and other tourism businesses.
Is November to February the best time for this promotion?
These are traditionally Thailand’s strongest tourism months, when hotels in popular destinations charge high-season rates and expect strong occupancy.
There is another curiosity. The proposed programme runs from 1 November 2026 to 28 February 2027, yet subsidies would reportedly be suspended from 15 December to 15 January, covering the Christmas and New Year peak.
That removes roughly one quarter of the four-month promotional period. Poor marketing, in my mind.
The reasoning is understandable. Why subsidise rooms when demand is already at its strongest? But that raises the broader question of whether government money would be more effective in stimulating travel during genuinely softer periods.
Hotel participation is another challenge. Properties expecting high occupancies at normal high-season rates may have little incentive to allocate rooms to subsidised domestic business.
Affordability matters too. A subsidy of up to Baht 2,000 sounds attractive, but against high-season room rates, the remaining cost may still be more than some of the Thai travellers the programme is intended to encourage want to pay.
Secondary destinations could gain incremental business; restaurants and attractions would benefit from additional spending, while hotels could use the scheme to fill softer midweek inventory.
Perhaps that is where the greatest opportunity lies.
The real measure of success should not simply be whether the one million subsidised room nights are used, but how much genuinely additional tourism they create.
If taxpayers subsidise holidays that would have happened anyway, the return is questionable. If the scheme generates new trips, fills otherwise empty rooms and directs travellers towards secondary destinations, it could be money well spent.
The concept has merit. The question remains: is high season really the right season to make it work?
About the author
Andrew J Wood is a British-born travel writer and former hotelier who has lived in Thailand since 1991. A graduate of Napier University, Edinburgh, he has more than four decades of international hospitality and tourism experience. He chairs the JFCCT Tourism Committee for 2026–2028 and has held senior leadership roles with Skål International and in Thailand and Asia.
