- Thailand has given foreign tourists over 10 billion baht in VAT refunds over the past seven years
- More than 9.4 million tourists have applied for VAT refunds since 2017, with a combined spending of over 200 billion baht
- Last year, 230,000 tourists spent 11 billion baht and received a refund of 575 million baht
- This year, over 1.2 million tourists have sought refunds, with 2.3 billion baht refunded against a combined spending of 42 billion baht
- The Covid-19 pandemic led to the lowest tourist spending in 2021 at 956 million baht, with 55 million baht refunded to 7,800 visitors
- VAT refunds granted indicate the recovery of the tourism industry
- The government plans to set up a one-stop VAT refund counter at the customs checkpoint to make it easier for tourists
- The government also plans to reduce taxes on luxury and brand-name products to attract big spenders.
Source: nationthailand.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
