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Tourism

Tourism Authority of Thailand Defends Complicated Registration Process for Domestic Travel Subsidy Scheme

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is defending its complicated registration process for the latest domestic travel subsidy scheme, which has experienced technical glitches and crashes on the first day of registrations. The agency, led by governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool, has pledged to regulate room prices and guard against overcharging by hoteliers during the low-season domestic travel promotion period. The scheme, which subsidises hotel rooms for domestic tourists, offers 500,000 room nights in total and has a budget of 1.76 billion baht. Despite the technical issues, the TAT has assured the public that registrants' personal data is protected according to national standards through verification on the state-owned ThaID app.

Key Takeaways:

  • The TAT has pledged to regulate room prices, ensuring they do not exceed 10% above last year's low-season rate to prevent overcharging by hoteliers.
  • The agency has changed from using the Pao Tang application managed by Krungthai Bank in the previous scheme to its own app - Amazing Thailand - to establish data ownership and tighten security checks through verification on the state-owned ThaID app.
  • A total of 2.3 billion baht was lost due to fraud in previous travel subsidy schemes, prompting the TAT to implement a more secure registration process.
  • The registration process has been heavily criticised for its complexity, with over 1,489 fraud complaints filed in connection with bogus bookings to claim subsidies.
  • The TAT is upgrading its main website and has added a list of hotel and tourism products on the front page to allow unregistered users to search for hotels before enrolling in the scheme.
  • The agency is also working to resolve technical issues, including providing a one-time password (OTP) for email verification, which has been affected by Google's spam classification.
  • The TAT has informed the public that it would suspend registrations if the issues persist, but as of Wednesday evening, it was still deciding on this course of action.
  • Raventure Co, the developer of the new system, was established in 2023 and has experience in developing government apps, including the Mor Prom vaccination information service during the pandemic.

Statistics:

  • 1.76 billion baht: the budget for the domestic travel subsidy scheme.
  • 500,000: the total number of room nights offered in the scheme.
  • 2.3 billion baht: the total amount lost due to fraud in previous travel subsidy schemes.
  • 1,489: the total number of fraud complaints filed in connection with bogus bookings to claim subsidies.
  • 1,411: the number of unresolved fraud cases still under investigation.
  • 38: the number of concluded fraud cases.
  • 10%: the maximum price increase allowed above last year's low-season rate for hotel rooms in the scheme.
  • 100: the number of visitors per second that the ThaID app can accommodate.
  • 2023: the year Raventure Co was established.

Sources:

  • Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
  • Raventure Co.
  • Pao Tang application managed by Krungthai Bank.
  • Amazing Thailand app.
  • ThaID app.
  • Google.
  • Mor Prom vaccination information service.
  • Local media reports.

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