Stimulating the economy in Thailand by giving away 1.000 baht
The government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha is trying to stimulate the economy and stimulate domestic tourism by giving away 1.000 Baht to the first 10 million Thais who sign up for their “Taste and shop project”.
The funds are delivered in the form of an electronic G-wallet and are to be spent on local tourism.
The 1.000 Baht will be distributed electronically through Krung Thai Bank's Wallet app and cannot be exchanged for cash. Registration opens Saturday 21 September.
The project includes a 15 percent discount, not exceeding 4.500 Baht, to purchase some products such as OTOP products and promote other businesses such as the Community Enterprise products.
Only adults 18 years and older are eligible for this promotion, which will be valid from September 24 to November 22, 2019 as stated on the TAT website. Applicants must indicate the province they are traveling in, which cannot be the same as the province listed on their ID card. Applicants can download the Wallet app and complete registration and wait for an SMS confirming eligibility for this promotion.
The project was announced Sept. 11 at a Pattaya Business and Tourism Association meeting at Green Park Resort Pattaya. The meeting also discussed the impact of the global economy on tourism in Thailand and how the situation could be improved.
It remains to be seen whether the Thai population will be impressed by this two-month campaign. Presumably people will set other more necessary priorities, especially the people affected in the areas that are still under water in 2019.
Source: Pattaya Mail
What a strange way to stimulate the economy. I think that few Thais are waiting for this.
Sectoral support measures, in this case for inland cross-provincial tourism, exist in many countries in various variants.
The people of OTOP do a good job in many places supporting local communities in rural areas. In the small villages in Northern Thailand, they are successfully rolling out a network of Homestay (B&Bs), with Thai (urban) tourists as the first target group. I also saw many successful initiatives for marketing, promotion, distribution and commercialization of organic products (rice, cashews, nuts, dried fruits, etc…)
All this on a small scale in itself, but because of the national Thai network, it is still socio-economically significant for many people.
The wealthy farrang and Thai who have been imprinted with big-multinational bussines as a frame of reference may find this all rather minuscule, but it certainly counts for many small Thai people.
In my response to an article about inequality in Thailand, I said that I was convinced that a change of mentality must first be initiated in TH. The realization that all Thai are equal must sink into those in power and that as a result those in power will understand that a measure like this “gift” is absolutely no longer possible.