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Thailand is planning to introduce a tourist tax from April. Each tourist will be charged 300 Baht (£6.60) per visit.

The Thai Government has said the fee will go towards sustainable tourism plans and attractions.

It also said that some of the fee would help to cover health insurance for tourists who can’t pay any medical costs.

Yuthasak Supasorn, Governer of the Tourism Authority of Thailand told Reuters: “Part of the fee will be used to take care of tourists.

“We’ve encountered times when insurance didn’t have coverage for tourists… which became our burden to take care of them.”

Thailand is a popular tourist destination and many British people visited the country before the pandemic.

Many choose to visit one of the country’s gorgeous beach destinations or explore the temples in Chiang Mai.

The new tax is likely to be priced in with airline tickets to Thailand, according to the Government.

Currently, Thailand has strict travel rules in place with foreigners allowed to enter under certain schemes.

‘Sandbox’ schemes allow tourists to quarantine at hotels for seven days in certain locations before travelling to the rest of Thailand.

The scheme includes popular destinations such as Krabi, Phang-Nga, Phuket and Surat Thani.

A Government spokesperson said that tourism could boost the Thai economy by a huge amount this year.

The proposed Thai tourist tax has inspired a range of reactions from visitors around the globe.

Russell Newton tweeted: “When 1.5-2 million people have lost their jobs in Thailand due to idiotic lockdown rules putting off tourists, a tourist tax will be the equivalent not just of kicking a person when they’re down but then stamping on their head just to make sure they never get up.”

However, Anna tweeted: “It’s beneficial to enable sustainable tourism and pay for healthcare for people not living in those countries. Makes sense to me.”

Thailand isn’t the first country to introduce a controversial tourist tax to cover costs.

Croatia charges tourists around £1.20 per night while the Asian nation of Bhutan charges a whopping £183 per day.

Venice is planning to charge visitors up to ten euros (£8.36) to enter the city and may use airport style turnstiles.

The Italian city has struggled with overcrowding and many local residents have complained about the impact of tourism on the historic city.

Several Spanish regions also charge a tourist tax, the cost of which varies depending on the style of accommodation.

However, a proposed tourist tax for Benidorm was slammed by officials who said it would “never” be introduced.

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