Want to Invest in Thailand Tourism? This is What You can Start and How

An isolated patio with the grey stone floor and café tables with sun umbrella or maybe a restaurant-cum-bar with beautifully embroidered couches, large mullioned windows, oval glass tables with cabriole legs, could be just the right property for your tourism business in Thailand.

Why just a cafeteria and restaurant? Does Tourism in Thailand mean only this?

Well, not really. But the chances of making profits are higher when it comes to such businesses. This is because of two major reasons;

1. Thailand is a tourist-heavy country
2. Thais love eating out

Considering the kind of climate Thailand experiences year round, there isn’t any particular season for visitors. And food, being one of the best ways to win hearts, what could be more lucrative than opening a food business. On the other hand, spa center too stands a strong chance there, provided you render an authentic Thai spa service.

Travel Agency could be Another Choice

That’s, in fact, the finest way of positioning your business plus the Thai culture and tourism as the pivot of the country’s economic growth and development. Contributing a lion’s share in the Thai tourism ecosystem will facilitate you with a lot of tax benefits. As you serve the country, the country will serve you too.

Seeing Thailand’s Tourism as a Whole

Tourism, being one of the major contributors to Thailand, it directly contributes to the GDP of 12 trillion baht that ranges from 9% to 17.7%.

Among the many reasons for the increase in tourism was the stable political environment of Thailand; Bangkok in particular. Both the hotel and retail industry expanded rapidly because of tourist demand. Tourist numbers have increased to 32.59 million foreign guests, visiting Thailand from 336,000 foreign visitors in 1967. Earnings of 2.52 trillion baht in 2016 were claimed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). In fact, Bangkok ranked the second of the world’s top-20-most visited cities in the Master Card 2014 and 2015 Global Destination Cities Index.

Coming to the present year from January-March 2018, almost 10,608,686 tourists have arrived in Thailand and more is expected by the end. In fact, that’s what exactly happened in 2017; the first three quarters of 2017 witnessed a modest rise in the total visitors, whereas the last quarter saw double-digit increase.
To sum up the data in a graph, it would somehow look like the following;

Yearly Tourist Arrivals in Thailand (2002-2017; in millions)

However, to be in the tourism business, such as hotel or restaurant reservations, vehicle leasing or transportation of passengers, you must have direct contact with the tourists. Thus, the tourists take services directly from the operator as opposed to the business acting as an agent for an actual service provider.

Let’s Get to Some Legal Talk

To operate in a tourism sector, you must obtain a Tourism License. According to this Act, there are various requirements that must be satisfied and the documents must be submitted before issuance of the license. However, documents preparation and application procedure can take up to 3 months time.

Qualification to Obtain License

In order to limit liability or act professionally, it is suggested to establish a juristic entity, like a limited company for operation of your tourism business. Below mentioned are requirements for a limited company to qualify as a licensee;

1. Your business must be registered under Thai Law
2. Your business must have an office in the country
3. Half of the directors should be Thai nationals
4. 51% shares of the company must be with Thai natural persons
5. The Managing Director of the company must be at least 20-years old and be residing in Thailand. The person must be credit-worthy and never have been imprisoned.
6. Your business must not have had a previous Tourism License suspended
7. Your business must not have had a revoked Tourism License, except for the revocation exceeding 3 years.

Similarly, The TBGR regulations need your business to have Tourist & Guide insurance. And for that, the insurance company will need to know an approximate number of clients per day. It is only when the insurance cover will be based on the number of persons. For instance, on having 500 clients per day, the policy will then cover a maximum of 500 clients.

Apart from that, you must prove the credibility of your business. Hence, the TBGR does the screening of the applicants. To get a reference on credibility in Thailand, you will have two options;

1. Submit a document that is issued by the TBGR to a police station, wherein you (applicant) is domiciled. Once you are certified with no criminal record, the applicant returns the same document to the TBGR.
2. Two licensed tourism business operators will need you to certify the credibility. Those two operators should complete a part of the tourism application form while furnishing a copy of the Tourism License and then they will have to submit them to the TBGR.

If you want to set up a limited liability company, you will need to submit these following documents plus the tax identification card, work permit and director’s identification card to the TBGR official. Please note that the copies of these shall be accompanied by the original version;

• Two photos, size 7.6 x 12.7 cm, of the front and inside of the office
• A map of the office
• Ownership proof of the office like a sale agreement, lease agreement, a letter of consent to use the place issued by the owner or the lesser
• Power of Attorney (if any)