The Thai government announced in early July that airport Duty Free arrival shops will be closed. The government didn’t specify a date, but it sounds like it’ll happen fairly soon. However, this only covers the eight international airports in Thailand; it doesn’t apply to border shops.
The Thai rationale is similar to that of the UK government when it eliminated tax free sales and VAT refunds. They both expect an increase in local spending. In the case of Thailand, the government forecasts additional domestic sales of THB 3.5 (about $97 million.) or $16 per visitor per trip. That’s interesting, since current airport arrival sales are only about $83 million.
It remains to be seen whether travellers will behave the way the government expects. They often don’t. Certainly if you’re a knowledgeable traveller planning to buy Duty Free on your next flight to Thailand, you’ll remember to buy at your departure airport or inflight, if not the first time, then certainly afterwards.
Many airports outside Europe, particularly in Asia, permit Duty Free sales on arrival. To find out more about them, check out my post on arrival Duty Free sales.
For your information, the current duty and tax free allowances in Thailand are:
- 200 cigarettes, 250 gm tobacco, or 250 gm mix of tobacco products
- 1 liter of spirits
- VAT exemption: THB 20,000 = $554