Tourism operators in resort cities near Bangkok are urging the government to adjust a hotel subsidy scheme called We Travel Together to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain more benefits. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), 890,781 rooms were booked at 3,797 hotels by 323,353 Thais under the stimulus scheme as of Nov 7. Besides hotel subsidies, she said demand from Tour Teaw Thai, which subsidises 40% of tour packages of up to 5,000 baht to 1 million Thais, is still sluggish. As of Nov 7, 3,091 tour packages were sold, while just 299 tourists had already travelled, generating 2 million baht. She said the local market prefers independent travel, so new tourism stimulus measures via tour packages might not effectively boost domestic trips.
