Thailand's 1,000-baht departure tax is still a draft, and airport security can now open your checked bag without you

Thailand is weighing two new charges on visitors, and neither exists yet. If you are flying out of Bangkok this winter, the change that already applies is in the baggage hall.

The departure tax

The Finance Ministry has asked the Revenue Department to bring back a departure tax, and the department opened a public consultation on its principles on 30 September. Its document proposes a tax on "all persons departing from Thailand, regardless of nationality", charged at 1,000 baht per departure by air at first, with departures by land and sea exempt. The law itself would set a ceiling of 5,000 baht. Airlines or ticket agents would collect it with the fare, and the usual exemptions from the airport passenger charge would apply, including children aged two or under and transit passengers who stay airside.

The timing protects anyone who has already booked. The act would take effect 180 days after publication in the Royal Gazette, and the tax would not apply to a ticket bought before that date, even for a later departure. Thailand charged a departure tax before: the document says it was 1,000 baht by air from 1983 until air travel was exempted in 1991.

Where it stands

Online comments close on 29 October, and a bill would still have to pass. The Finance Ministry's permanent secretary has backed the 1,000-baht figure, and the Association of Thai Travel Agents warned that the tax could cost 50 to 150 billion baht a year in lost tourism revenue, against the 45.9 billion it would raise, the Bangkok Post reported. On 20 and 21 October the Finance Ministry's Fiscal Policy Office said the government could revise or postpone the tax if economic conditions are unsuitable.

The entry fee is a separate plan

The long-discussed tourist entry fee belongs to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, and it has grown from 300 baht to 450 baht. The draft notice would charge eligible foreign tourists arriving by air, with land and sea arrivals following a year later. The money would go to a tourism fund, partly to pay for visitor insurance. It still needs approval from the national tourism policy committee and the cabinet, and the ministry aims to start collecting in the first quarter of 2027. The Finance Ministry is looking at how the two charges would fit together so that visitors are not charged twice.

Already in force: bag searches without you

Since Friday 16 October, under a Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand notification, screening staff at Thai airports may open and search a checked bag without its owner present when there are "reasonable grounds" to suspect a prohibited item. Airports of Thailand says the whole search is video recorded, a notice of inspection is left inside the bag, and seized items are not returned.

Use a TSA-approved lock, which screeners can open and re-lock. If they have to cut another kind of lock, strap or zip, the damage is your risk and cannot be claimed. Power banks and spare lithium batteries are banned from checked bags and must travel in your hand luggage.