Category: The Bangkok Post

More than 210,000 people have appealed for an eligibility review under the state welfare card programme following a revision to the vehicle ownership criteria, according to the government.

The new criteria exclude motorcycles aged 15 years or older, and cars, trailers and agricultural vehicles aged 20 years or older from the asset assessment. The change better reflects the actual use of citizens’ assets and makes the eligibility assessment fairer, government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said.

Vehicle ownership is one of the criteria used to screen and verify eligibility for the government’s welfare card programme to determine whether registrants genuinely qualify for state assistance.

So far, the appeals have covered approximately 370,000 vehicles nationwide.

The provinces with the highest number of appeals were Nakhon Ratchasima, followed by Chiang Mai, Lampang, Phetchabun and Narathiwat.

The main reasons for the appeals were that vehicles exceeded the specified age threshold, ownership had been transferred informally without updating registration records, or the vehicles were no longer roadworthy or in use.

Ms Rachada said those wishing to appeal can continue submitting their requests until Aug 31, with eligibility to be determined in accordance with the programme’s criteria and conditions.

Meanwhile, a survey released on Friday by the King Prajadhipok’s Institute (KPI) found that while a majority of the 2,000 respondents wanted the state welfare card programme to continue, 31.7% called for higher card limits to maximise the level of state assistance.

According to KPI’s survey, conducted between July 25 and 28, 29.1% of respondents called for more effective data screening, while 15.3% suggested that the welfare card programme should be accompanied by job training and other initiatives to help beneficiaries generate sustainable income.

The survey also found that 24.4% of respondents regarded the previous vehicle ownership rule, which disqualified applicants who owned a car or a motorcycle with an engine capacity below 300cc, as the most problematic eligibility criterion.

Another 15% said the annual income limit of 100,000 baht was the most problematic criterion.

Some respondents said owning a vehicle does not necessarily indicate that a person has sufficient income, particularly when a vehicle is essential for work or for people living in areas where public transportation is unavailable.

Veterinarians are closely monitoring a wild elephant calf rescued from starvation after being stranded near a fast-flowing stream in Sai Yok district for two days.

The male calf, weighing about 40 kilogrammes and estimated to be less than two weeks old, sustained several injuries and was considered in critical condition.

He was found on Thursday in Village 5 of Mae Nam Noi in tambon Sai Yok. Rangers from Sai Yok National Park Protection Unit 5 travelled to the site by local boat, which took about two hours to reach the spot.

Officials initially monitored the calf from a distance while waiting to see whether its herd would return. Throughout the night, the calf was heard crying intermittently for its mother.

The calf was also seen sucking on tree roots and rocks nearby, behaviour believed to indicate it was searching for nutrients. It was able to move only within a radius of about 1.5 metres, close to the stream.

Officials believe the herd crossed the stream and that the calf was swept away by the current. Heavy rainfall over the previous two days had raised the water level, posing a serious danger to the calf.

Officials later fed the calf milk before transferring it on Friday. Veterinarians and park officials faced difficult conditions because the area was at risk of flash flooding and forest runoff.

Officials use a bamboo cage to transport the calf to receive treatment on Friday.

A bamboo cage is used to transport the calf to receive treatment on Friday.

According to the veterinary team, the calf was severely weakened, with abrasions, blisters and multiple mouth ulcers that made it difficult to drink milk.

It was severely dehydrated and had a wound around the umbilical area. Its trunk had blistering and patches of dead tissue. Bee-like insects had gathered around its eyes, causing conjunctivitis.

The calf’s urine was dark yellow to reddish, suggesting a possible infection or severe dehydration, and it was suffering from foul-smelling diarrhoea. Veterinarians described its condition as critical.

The calf was transferred to an office at Sai Yok National Park, where it is receiving intensive treatment.

Authorities expect the results on Saturday of a test for elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), a potentially fatal disease affecting young elephants.

Bangkok Hospital Headquarters is strengthening the expertise of its surgical teams to provide better robot-assisted surgery for patients, part of its efforts to become an Asia-Pacific medical robot hub.

“We emphasise medical technology alongside the development of healthcare professionals,” said Dr Ekkit Surakarn, deputy director of Bangkok Hospital.

Dr Ekkit was speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangkok Hospital Headquarters and Device Technologies (Thailand), a medical technology and supply company. The one-year MoU aims to establish a learning system for robotic surgery, enabling patients to receive treatment that is more effective and safer.

The cooperation builds on specialists’ experience at the hospital in more than 1,000 cases performed using the da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgery System, designed to perform minimally invasive surgeries.

Surgeons are not required to operate on patients directly by hand. They sit at a nearby computer console and use hand/foot controls to translate their exact movements into micro-movements made by robotic arms over the patient.

Over the past three years, Bangkok Hospital Headquarters has performed 547 abdominal surgeries, 237 lung surgeries, 131 gynecological surgeries and 92 urological surgeries involving the kidneys and prostate, according to the hospital’s data as of June 2026.

The technology enables precise procedures, reduces blood loss and tissue trauma, and lowers the risk of complication and infection, resulting in faster recovery, shorter hospital stays and a quicker return to daily life, said Chanin Pundee, director of the Surgery Center at Bangkok Hospital and a specialist in minimally invasive and robotic abdominal surgery.

“The technology alone is insufficient to advance patient care,” said Adam Brown, business manager of capital robotic surgery at Device Technologies. “Equally important is the continuous development of healthcare professionals, the establishment of standardised learning systems, and the exchange of knowledge among experts.”

Under the MoU, the parties are to cooperate on establishing a robotic training centre in the hospital, developing the skills of surgeons and specialists through training programmes, international and in-house proctorship programmes, and enhancing infrastructure and surgical simulation systems.

A draft cannabis control law that limits use to medical purposes, bans promotion and establishes a national regulatory committee is expected to be submitted to the Thai cabinet soon.

The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM) prepared the draft in an attempt to close regulatory gaps that emerged after cannabis was removed from the narcotics list in 2022.

The proposed legislation would create a single framework governing cultivation, production, import, export, sales and public health protection, said Dr Thewan Thaneerat, the department’s deputy director-general.

Decriminalisation of cannabis in June 2022 set off a free-for-all across the country in the absence of clear regulations. As recreational use soared, authorities tried various ad hoc measures to reduce abuse but attempts to pass a comprehensive law failed.

Decriminalisation was a flagship policy of the Bhumjaithai Party under Anutin Charnvirakul, who was public health minister at the time.

The new draft provides for a national cannabis committee chaired by the public health minister to oversee national policy and regulation.

Anyone wishing to cultivate, produce, import, export or sell cannabis would require a three-year licence from the DTAM. Exemptions apply to the sale of roots, branches, stems, leaves and seeds, and to medical practitioners using cannabis for treatment under existing laws.

The bill prohibits sales to people under 20, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers. Sales are also banned in temples, schools, dormitories, public parks, zoos and amusement parks.

Advertising, promotion and marketing of cannabis flowers, resin and smoking devices are prohibited to discourage recreational use.

The draft stipulates that cannabis and its extracts may only be used for medical treatment under professional supervision or for authorised research.

Those producing, importing, exporting or selling cannabis without a licence, or selling it to prohibited groups, face imprisonment and fines. Unauthorised use is also punishable by fines.

DTAM director-general Dr Pongsathorn Phokphermdee said the department had completed public consultations before submitting the draft to Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat on July 20 for cabinet review.

The Bhumjaithai Party has accused iLaw of applying double standards in its scrutiny of the 2024 Senate election, saying it had overlooked similar conduct by the Progressive Movement.

Supachai Jaisamut, the party’s legal affairs chairman, said on Friday that the Senate election regulations were complex, involving district, provincial and national rounds of voting, which had led candidates to organise themselves into groups.

He said iLaw and the Progressive Movement, which is affiliated with the opposition People’s Party, had openly campaigned under the ‘Senate 67’ banner and encouraged people to stand as candidates, yet they accused another group of ‘collusion’ despite engaging in similar activities.

‘What is the difference? You say organising candidates is collusion when one group does it, but it is acceptable when your group does the same thing,’ he said.

iLaw in recent weeks has released evidence of what it says were coordinated efforts on a national scale to ensure the election of senatorial candidates linked to the Bhumjaithai Party.

The election and transparency watchdog also named Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul, now the prime minister, and other senior party figures as being aware of or involved in the plot.

Mr Supachai claimed to have evidence that a network calling itself the ‘People’s Senate’, or ‘Orange Senate’, privately coordinated voting strategies through chat groups.

Some candidates were assigned the role of ‘voters’, whose sole task was to vote for preferred candidates, he added.

The Bhumjaithai list-MP also dismissed as untrue claims by Sen Nantana Nantavaropas that about 300 candidates who gathered at Jupiter Hall in Impact Muang Thong Thani had shared the venue costs among themselves.

He said he had receipts showing the venue had been booked and paid for by a representative of Fa Diew Kan Publishing (Same Sky), and that the matter could be independently verified.

The gathering prompted political activist Srisuwan Janya to petition the Election Commission (EC) to investigate whether any activities had undermined the fairness of the Senate election.

Mr Srisuwan said Senate candidates were supposed to compete independently, yet some had openly referred to a ‘joint mission’, ‘the same team’ and ‘sending our people in’.

He also questioned why similar conduct was described as ‘organisation’ or ‘teamwork’ in one case but labelled ‘collusion’ in another.

The Election Commission is expected to decide in the next few weeks whether to forward a collusion case to the courts, after a series of investigations that began nearly two years ago.

An EC subcommittee in May this year voted 5-2 to clear all 229 people named in the case file: 138 sitting senators and 91 Bhumjaithai Party executives, members and associates. The ruling overturned the recommendation of an earlier panel that the case go to the Supreme Court.

In a related development, in Amnat Charoen, senators Somphan Phalasak and Daeng Kongma filed a defamation complaint against iLaw director Yingcheep Atchanont, accusing him of falsely claiming they lacked the qualifications to contest Group 10 in the Senate election.

Both insisted the EC had cleared them nearly two years ago after complaints questioning their eligibility to contest Group 10 were investigated.

Google ?has put the brakes on an AI image-generation feature it had introduced ?in Google Earth just a day earlier, after users shared images that appeared to violate the company’s policies.

The feature, powered by Google’s Nano Banana 2 AI model, allowed ?users to ?generate photorealistic images grounded in Google Earth’s satellite, aerial and 3D imagery by simply typing a text prompt for any location on the globe.

The tool quickly came under criticism for its potential for misinformation that could have catastrophic consequences, as anyone could create fake ?scenarios on top of real imagery of monuments and landmarks.

Henk van Ess, an AI and misinformation expert based in Amsterdam, was scathing in his criticism of the company in a post on his Digital Digging website.

‘Tonight I typed just one sentence into Google Earth and put refugees near the Mexican border,’ he wrote. ‘Then I planted a nuclear plant in Iran. Then I put a fatal crash on a street in Amsterdam. Google’s own satellite imagery underneath all three. What on earth is Google doing?’

Less than 48 hours after announcing the feature, Google hit the pause button.

‘We’ve seen geospatial professionals using this feature for a range of useful purposes, however we’ve also seen people sharing screenshots of generated imagery ?that appear to violate our policies,’ the company said in a post on X, adding that it was pausing the capability ?while works on ‘stronger guardrails’.

Google did not specify what types of images violated its policies. It ?said ?the images did not appear in the main Google Earth experience and were watermarked ?as AI-generated.

While tech giants have rushed to integrate AI tools across their products, they have had to adjust, restrict or temporarily disable ?features in response to user violations, misinformation and ?policy concerns.

Meta earlier this month discontinued Muse Image, an AI feature that allowed users to generate images using public Instagram accounts, after drawing criticism over privacy ?concerns, including from a ?Hollywood union.

‘Google spent twenty years building the reference the world checks against,’ Mr van Ess wrote of Google Earth. ‘Today it added a button that makes things up.’

Government chief whip Korrawee Prissananantakul has dismissed concerns over an expected no-confidence debate when parliament reconvenes, saying the government is ready to answer questions on all issues.

The next parliamentary session is scheduled to open on Aug 25.

Among the issues expected to be raised are the TH-AI Passport scheme and the civil service exam corruption scandal.

Mr Korrawee said parliamentary scrutiny was the opposition’s responsibility, while ministers must explain matters within their portfolios.

He said the ministers overseeing the Digital Economy and Society Ministry and the Interior Ministry were ready for the debate.

He said the recruitment exam irregularities occurred before the current Bhumjaithai-led government took office and were unlikely to cause major problems for the administration.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is also the interior minister, is reportedly planning a major shakeup involving top officials at the ministry, which is responsible for recruitment exams.

Mr Korrawee also said the Bhumjaithai Party welcomed scrutiny over the Senate election collusion case and remained confident in the nine senior party members who have denied involvement.

The election monitoring group iLaw recently alleged that nine Bhumjaithai figures, including Mr Anutin, played a role in fixing the 2024 Senate election.

Mr Korrawee said the opposition’s renewed focus on the case appeared intended to pressure the Election Commission (EC) into accelerating its investigation rather than allowing the issue to fade.

Borrowing decree

Turning to the 400-billion-baht emergency loan decree, Mr Korrawee said no decision had been made on whether to call a special House sitting to expedite parliamentary approval.

Although the Constitutional Court upheld the decree, the House has yet to receive the full ruling and the cabinet must first request a special session, he said.

With parliament scheduled to reconvene on Aug 25, such a session may not be necessary. The matter would be discussed with opposition whips before a decision was made, he said.

Early last month, the court unanimously upheld provisions authorising borrowing to assist households, farmers and businesses affected by the energy crisis.

The package funds the Thais Help Thais Plus consumer subsidy scheme and measures supporting Thailand’s transition to cleaner energy.

In a separate 7-2 ruling, the court approved borrowing for energy efficiency, renewable and alternative energy projects, as well as related skills development and innovation programmes.

The case was brought by 133 MPs who argued the government had failed to prove there was an ’emergency’ that merited bypassing normal parliamentary scrutiny of major borrowing and spending plans.

Thailand aims to raise total investment to 30% of GDP to escape the middle-income trap and achieve high-income status within the next 12 years, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said.

He was speaking on Friday after chairing a meeting of the subcommittee on new national investment development.

The subcommittee, comprising representatives from the Board of Investment (BoI), the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers’ Association, approved a framework to strengthen Thailand’s competitiveness, accelerate investment and position the country as a leading regional investment hub.

Mr Ekniti, who also serves as deputy prime minister, said the government aims to lift GDP growth to more than 3% by 2029, improve Thailand’s position in the IMD World Competitiveness Ranking from 26th to within the global top 20, and achieve high-income status by around 2038.

“To become a high-income country within the timeframe we have set, Thailand must increase combined public and private investment to 30% of GDP from the current 23%,” he said.

The government will deploy all available policy tools, including tax incentives, targeted budget spending, public-private partnership (PPP) projects and the Thailand Future Fund.

Five working groups have been established, with targets to deliver early results within six months, major progress within two years and long-term infrastructure outcomes within four years. The groups cover investment and industrial transformation, AI and digital technology, the green economy, financial services and medical investment.

The investment and industrial transformation group will modernise existing industries, develop new industrial bases, streamline business approvals through the Thailand FastPass mechanism, expand electricity, water and industrial infrastructure, strengthen workforce skills through the Skill Bridge programme and support Thai companies’ participation in global supply chains.

The AI and digital group aims to attract 100 billion baht in investment in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and chip design by 2027 while increasing AI’s contribution to 5% of GDP through investment in infrastructure, research, talent development and commercial adoption.

The green economy group will promote clean energy, smart grids, electric vehicle infrastructure, carbon markets and green finance. The financial services group will develop Thailand into a regional financial hub while expanding access to capital for innovative businesses.

The medical investment group will strengthen Thailand’s role in high-value medical manufacturing and innovation, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare products.

BoI secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi, who serves as secretary to the subcommittee, said its role is to formulate investment policies, remove obstacles, develop infrastructure and coordinate public-private cooperation to drive the strategy.

Mr Ekniti said the global economy is being reshaped by geopolitical tensions, rapid advances in artificial intelligence, digitalisation, ageing populations and the transition to a green economy.

“Countries around the world are competing to attract investment and reorganise global supply chains,” he said.

Over the past few years, Thailand has emerged as one of Southeast Asia’s most proactive and structured hosts for digital asset regulation. Driven by a high level of retail crypto adoption, a tech-savvy population and strong institutional backing, the focus has shifted towards building a utility-driven digital asset system.

At the core of this transformation are stablecoins — digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies or reserve assets.

Bank of Thailand governor Vitai Ratanakorn pledged to develop a baht-backed stablecoin as part of efforts to modernise the country’s payment infrastructure, align with global financial trends and reduce transaction costs.

The central bank plans to hold a public hearing on the proposal by year-end and has outlined strict initial requirements for any stablecoin that would operate in the country.

In the first phase, the regulator intends to allow financial institutions to use stablecoins for settlement purposes only, with additional use cases to be evaluated in subsequent phases, according to Mr Vitai.

What is the central bank seeking to achieve?

He said the regulator’s study of a baht-backed stablecoin aligns with the evolution of the global financial system, with many central banks exploring or implementing similar initiatives.

“The primary objective of a baht stablecoin is to strengthen Thailand’s financial infrastructure by improving the efficiency of the country’s payment and settlement systems while reducing transaction costs,” said Mr Vitai.

The central bank is collaborating with the Securities and Exchange Commission to study and design the operational framework for a baht-backed stablecoin, and he said the project has made significant progress.

The proposal has received substantial public feedback since it was unveiled, which the central bank plans to use to refine the framework. The consultation process is expected to take around three months.

How would a baht-backed stablecoin work?

Mr Vitai said the proposed stablecoin would operate under a fully-backed reserve model. Every stablecoin issued would be backed by an equivalent amount of baht on a 1:1 basis.

For example, if a licensed issuer creates 1 billion baht worth of stablecoins, it must simultaneously place 1 billion baht in reserve.

“Stablecoin issuers must obtain a licence from the central bank and are subject to the central bank’s regulatory oversight,” he said.

The underlying baht reserves cannot be reused or circulated elsewhere. Instead, the funds remain locked as reserve assets, ensuring every stablecoin can be redeemed for baht at any time.

The proposed design of the 1:1 baht-pegged stablecoin would maintain the coin’s value at parity with the baht, preventing the creation of additional money outside the banking system and ensuring that issuing stablecoins does not increase the money supply or create inflationary pressure.

Mr Vitai said the central bank may expand the use cases of financial innovations being tested in its regulatory sandbox to incorporate the stablecoin.

Does the central bank have any other initiatives?

As financial innovation accelerates, the regulator launched the Programmable Payment Project to test new payment technologies.

Under the initiative, the central bank allows eight business operators to test payment settlement and related financial innovations within its regulatory sandbox.

These innovations use programmable electronic tokens built on distributed ledger technology and smart contracts, allowing transactions to be executed automatically once predefined conditions are met. Several pilot projects are underway.

As of April 2026, three participants had advanced to the second phase of testing. TrueMoney is conducting an asset tokenisation payment pilot from June to December 2026, while Bitkub Blockchain Technology is testing escrow payment services, asset tokenisation payment services and blockchain bridging from April 2026 to March 2027. Om Platform is testing escrow payment services from April to December 2026.

Eight participants completed the first round of testing: SCB 10X for Purpose-Bound Money (PBM) in November 2024; Bank of Ayudhya for secure payment in September-November 2025; Kasikornbank for PBM in August 2025-March 2026; Bitkub Blockchain Technology for escrow, asset tokenisation payment and bridging in August 2025-March 2026; TrueMoney for asset tokenisation payment services in August 2025-March 2026; Future Competere Venture for asset tokenisation payment services; Determina for business-to-business lending; and Om Platform for escrow payment services in September 2025-March 2026.

For asset tokenisation payment services, the pilots test the use of baht programmable payment as the settlement medium for transactions involving tokenised digital assets, including digital tickets, non-fungible tokens, investment tokens and utility tokens.

The initiatives are designed to make digital asset transactions more convenient and transparent, while improving settlement efficiency through atomic settlement, which enables payments and asset transfers to be completed simultaneously.

Consumers and merchants are expected to access a broader range of programmable financial services and digital asset transactions in the future, noted the central bank.

Regarding the PBM service, the pilot is being conducted on a limited basis for foreign tourists, allowing them to exchange digital assets for baht programmable payment, using the funds to pay for goods and services via QR codes at participating merchants.

The pilot is limited to designated locations and specific time periods, such as selected international conferences or major events. Participating merchants can continue to receive payments in baht deposited directly into their bank accounts, as they do under the existing payment system.

In addition, the pilot tests the technical capabilities of programmable payments by enabling payment conditions based on factors such as geographic location and designated merchants. The project also assesses the potential benefits of reducing the need for cash currency exchange and lowering foreign currency transaction costs for international visitors.

How are regional peers approaching stablecoins?

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) granted its first two stablecoin issuer licences on April 10, 2026, to HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong), authorising both institutions to issue Hong Kong dollar-referenced stablecoins under the Stablecoin Ordinance, which took effect in August 2025.

According to the HKMA, the licensing regime is a milestone in Hong Kong’s digital asset development, providing a regulatory framework that supports innovation while ensuring strong consumer protection and effective risk management.

Standard Chartered plans to operate its stablecoin business through its joint venture, Anchorpoint Financial Ltd. In May 2026, Anchorpoint completed a full-lifecycle test of its HKDAP token on the Ethereum mainnet.

Meanwhile, HSBC confirmed development of its HKD stablecoin remains on schedule.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore introduced its stablecoin regulatory framework in August 2023 for single-currency stablecoins issued in Singapore and pegged to the Singapore dollar or any G10 currency.

Under the framework, issuers must meet four key requirements. The first is value stability: reserve assets must comply with strict requirements covering composition, valuation, custody and independent audits.

Another requirement covers capital and liquidity: issuers must maintain minimum capital and liquid assets to support financial resilience and enable an orderly wind-down if necessary.

In addition, there must be redemption at par: stablecoins must be redeemable at face value within five business days of a redemption request.

Finally, issuers must provide clear information on reserve management, holders’ rights and audit results.

The Bank of Korea has been conducting an in-depth study of Korean won-backed stablecoins while lawmakers debate legislation governing their issuance.

According to an S and P Global report, some proposals would allow non-bank issuers to enter the market. However, financial regulators favour a more conservative approach, requiring stablecoin issuers to be majority-owned by banks, citing their established risk management practices and regulatory oversight.

The report noted banks are likely to lead early adoption, focusing initially on institutional applications such as cross-border wholesale settlement. The planned launch of real-world asset tokenisation in 2027 could further accelerate stablecoin adoption by providing a digital settlement asset for tokenised securities.

The government plans to launch tourism stimulus projects worth 2.45 billion baht in September, relying on funding from the 200-billion-baht borrowing decree allocated to ease cost-of-living pressures amid the surge in energy prices, says the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said to lift tourism during the low season, the ministry wants to seek funding from the emergency loan decree, which was issued to address the economic downturn, rather than waiting for the central budget for fiscal 2027.

The stimulus schemes comprise: the “Thai Teaw Thai Plus” domestic co-payment programme valued at 1.75 billion baht for 500,000 privileges with up to 3,000 baht per booking; the “Fly Thai All the Feelings” domestic flight discount scheme valued at 200 million baht; and the “Thailand Air Connect” international flight subsidy worth 500 million baht for charter flights and commercial flights.

The three schemes are expected to generate 56 billion baht in revenue.

Mr Surasak said if the ministry waits for next year’s central budget, these schemes may not be launched until the year-end high season, missing an opportunity to boost travel activities during a typically quiet September and October.

The 400-billion-baht emergency loan decree was divided into two components: 200 billion to support Thailand’s transition to renewable and clean energy, and 200 billion to offer immediate relief measures for vulnerable households and businesses affected by the energy crisis.

He said the stimulus schemes could fall under the latter category, which was already used to launch the “Thais Help Thais Plus” co-payment scheme, as tourism operators and airlines were directly impacted by the energy crisis.

The three schemes were approved by the ministry’s public-private committee meeting last month.

The ministry expects to finalise the budget details with Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas next week, aiming to propose them to the cabinet by the end of August.

Mr Surasak said if the first phase is successful, the ministry will launch a second phase of stimulus during the next low season.

Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), said launching these schemes during the low season would provide greater benefits to the tourism industry, helping operators increase occupancy rates before the start of the high season.

There is strong demand from overseas operators to arrange charter flights to Thailand, particularly from China, he said.

The subsidy would help ease operators’ costs as fuel prices and airfares surge, said Mr Thanapol.

Atta hosted the “Thailand Tourism Leadership Forum 2026” yesterday, featuring business-to-business matching sessions that brought together more than 600 buyers and sellers from across Thailand.