Green tax unlikely to impact Thai tourism

The environmental charge on airfares adopted by many airlines in Europe should not affect long-haul markets as passengers are still willing to pay for necessary adjustments.
In June, European carrier Lufthansa Group announced the addition of an environmental charge of between €1-72 (36-2,647 baht) on departures from EU member states, Switzerland, Norway and the UK, effective as of Jan 1, 2025. The hike in airfares is meant to cover carbon reduction efforts in the EU.
Air France-KLM Group already began charging passengers a fee in 2022 as a form of contribution towards the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel.
Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) deputy governor for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, said European tourists have been aware of sustainability issues and similar initiatives for many years.
He said most long-haul travellers, including those from Europe, the Middle East and the US, are willing to pay a higher price for services that pledge to help mitigate climate change, including airfares.
The additional fee of up to €72 should not significantly impact tourism demand to Thailand.
The most challenging factor for this market is to develop tourism supply to accommodate the growing responsible tourism trend, he said.
Those include educating Thai operators about sustainability standard certifications, and attracting them to comply with reliable standards, such as TAT’s Sustainable Tourism Acceleration Rating, or STAR, Green Leaf Hotels, and a carbon footprint calculation platform called CF-Hotels.
According to TAT, only 419 hotels in Thailand are listed on the CF-Hotels platform as of 2024.
Mr Siripakorn said the agency has a plan to make a Thai version of standards that are equivalent to international standards, as well as promoting certified operators and destinations to tourists.
At present, only operators qualified for sustainable practices are eligible to join TAT’s trade shows in Thailand and overseas, he said.
Similarly, many travellers are concerned about their carbon footprint during their trips, while many corporates demand carbon reduction tracking and prefer to book with operators who only practise such initiatives.
“Amid rising travel costs and concerns over climate change, Thailand needs to be promoted as a valuable destination for sustainable trips,” said Mr Siripakorn.
As the government is preparing to launch the “Amazing Thailand Grand Tourism and Sports Year 2025”, TAT also plans to offer privileges for foreign tourists, such as a promotion for long-stay accommodation, to offset rising costs.
The agency will partner with airlines to boost markets, encouraging them to add capacity or arrange more flights to Thailand when they have new aircraft.
The number of tourists from top long-haul markets, namely Germany, the UK and the US, are expected to reach 1 million from each this year.
British Airways has resumed Bangkok-London flights since October and they will continue until the end of March next year, after suspending this route during the pandemic.