Thailand Subsidises Group Tour Buses Up to 40,000 Baht a Trip

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and nine industry partners have launched "Amazing Thailand: Travel Thailand with Tours", a subsidy for bus and van costs on cross-province group tours, aimed at getting Thais to travel and spend outside their home areas. Deputy Government Spokesperson Ploythalay Laksameesaengjan announced it. Eligible travel runs from 15 October 2026 to 31 January 2027.

How much, and who qualifies

• Buses: 10,000 baht per vehicle per day, capped at 40,000 baht per trip.
• Vans: 2,500 baht per vehicle per day, capped at 10,000 baht per trip.

Buses must carry at least 30 Thai travellers and vans at least six. Only non-scheduled vehicles used for group tours count. Trips must cross provincial boundaries, last at least two days and one night, include an overnight stay in a province other than the departure point, and feature highlight activities set by the partner organisations.

Illustrative: a tour bus in Thailand — Wikimedia Commons (CC)

Travel styles covered

The scheme covers religious and cultural, historical, nature, wellness and adventure trips, CSR trips, study visits and experience-based tourism. Nine partners take part, including tour-operator, ecotourism, provincial tourism and transport-operator associations and the Tourism Council of Thailand.

Illustrative: Wat Arun, Bangkok — Wikimedia Commons (CC)

Why domestic travel, and why now

The goal is to cut group travel costs and spread income to transport providers, hotels, restaurants, attractions and communities, with a target of at least 208.8 million baht.

The foreign market is the backdrop. Preliminary figures from the Tourism and Sports Ministry show 24,423,680 foreign arrivals from 1 January to 17 October 2026, down 4.12% year on year, with about 1.19 trillion baht in tourism spending. Top markets were China (4.14 million), Malaysia (3.10 million), India (1.84 million), Russia (1.33 million) and South Korea (895,659).

The latest weekly signals

In the week of 11–17 October, 487,410 visitors arrived, up 0.83% on the previous week (about 69,630 a day). Long-haul arrivals rose 10.55% to 178,479 on short school breaks in Europe and the Americas and the start of winter. Short-haul arrivals fell 4.04% as Chinese travel eased after Golden Week, while Malaysian arrivals rose 7.65%, partly due to the vegetarian festival in Hat Yai. Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul expects arrivals to rise further during 18–24 October.

Illustrative: Phu Chi Fa, Chiang Rai — Wikimedia Commons (CC)

What readers should know, and what to watch

The money goes toward vehicle costs for group trips, not directly to individual travellers. Interested groups should check packages with tour companies or partner associations, or call TAT at 02-250-5500 or the Contact Center at 1672. The thing to watch is how many trips actually take part through the high season to the end of January, against the 208.8 million baht target.

Related: check the holiday calendar when planning a long-weekend trip.

Data as of 20 October 2026.