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UAPA appeals against Thai travel tax
By Siriwan Boonpala The Universal Federation of Travel Agents Associations Asia Pacific Alliance (UAPA) has sent a letter to the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra asking the Thai government to review a 1,500 baht travel tax expected to be enforced this month. The letter sent by UAPA's secretary general, John Dart, asked whether the meager monies earned from the tax would be worth the confusion, the damage to the country's economic standing and the threat of reduced airline frequencies. UAPA believes the implementation of the travel tax will be counterproductive and detrimental in the long term to both Thai aviation and tourism. "The move will be interpreted to curb outbound travel but will discourage airlines from starting flights in Thailand which will affect inbound tourism," UAPA said. Current global liberalisation trends put the move as a form of protectionism. This may invite some protest in countries that are keen to promote tourists to Thailand. UAPA also stated that the lifting of the 1,000 baht exit tax in the late 1980's played a major role in raising investors' confidence and the level of business, leisure and convention travel to and from Thailand. UAPA comprises 14,000 travel agents in the Asia/Pacific region.
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