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.
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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.
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’s 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.
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’s sour economy and large household debt are causing Thais to reduce spending on non-essentials such as travel.
“Things have been pretty quiet recently even though there were inquiries about bookings,” said Chotirot Rodmuang, marketing manager of Jaravee Tour, which provides tours of Trang’s islands such as Ko Kradan. November and December reservations are down about 50 per cent year on year, Chotirot said.
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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.
“Some travellers aren’t that interested in the deduction because their annual income may be below the tax brackets so they aren’t liable to pay taxes,” 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’s deduction programme, she said.