Foreign-flagged visiting superyachts welcome in Thailand
At a meeting in Bangkok yesterday evening chaired by the new Minister of Finance, Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, and attended by officials from both the Customs and Revenue departments, it was finally confirmed that foreign-flagged visiting superyachts will from now on be welcome to spend the winter seasons in Thai waters and offer their yachts for charter there without having to pay VAT on the value of the vessel.
The meeting marked the culmination of a six-year campaign to bring this all-important change in the local regulations, and thus finally enable a new “third destination” for the global fleet and a new “Superyacht Tourism“ industry to boost Thailand’s pandemic-challenged tourism economy.
The campaign started in earnest in 2015 when the then Minister of Transport was tasked by the Prime Minister with launching Thailand’s own Yacht Show. The show was conceived as a platform to promote the Kingdom as the Marina Hub of Asia and develop an important new yachting industry bringing in significant foreign investment for the benefit of all Thai people.
Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, then Minister of Tourism and Sport, became a real champion for the cause, and her unflagging belief in this opportunity remains to this day, despite her having left politics two years ago. Minister Arkhom was the incumbent Minister of Transport who in 2016 signed the government decree authorising the so-called "superyacht charter license", the first three of which were presented to foreign superyacht owners at a ceremony announcing the launch of the new Thailand Yacht Show.
It has taken until today to finally agree on the official tax regulations surrounding this initiative, but it could not have come at a better time when Thailand desperately needs a new wave of high quality, high-spending tourists to arrive when we finally see the end of the pandemic - hopefully in time for next season.
Photo caption: Meeting with Minister of Finance Arkhom Termpittayapaisith were Chairperson of K-Bank and Committee of National Reform on Economics, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul; Andy Treadwell, CEO of Verventia and Thailand Yacht Show; Matthew Na Nagara, Chairman of TYBA; and Peerawich Thoviriyavej, Verventia & TYBA Board Member.