What happened?
To stimulate tourism, Thailand has launched a new plan 'TouristDigiPay' regulatory sandbox, allowing foreign tourists to exchange cryptocurrencies for Thai baht and make electronic payments such as QR code scanning locally.
This move is in response to the significant decline in tourist numbers (especially from China) in the first half of the year. Thailand hopes to attract new customers and enhance consumption convenience through financial innovation.
This program does not allow direct cryptocurrency payments; tourists still need to go through identity verification, and there are monthly spending limits and prohibitions on cash withdrawals to manage financial risks.
Thailand allows foreign tourists to exchange cryptocurrencies for Thai baht for consumption.
To revitalize the slowing tourism industry, the Thai government officially announced on August 18 the launch of a nationwide regulatory sandbox program called 'TouristDigiPay'. This program allows foreign tourists to exchange their cryptocurrencies for local currency Thai baht (1 Thai baht equals 0.93 New Taiwan dollars) and to spend through electronic payment methods in Thailand, hoping to inject new vitality into the tourism market.
The detailed content of this plan was jointly announced by Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira along with officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
Urgent measures to combat the decline in the tourism industry.
The launch of the 'TouristDigiPay' program is a direct response by the Thai government to the current tourism industry crisis.
According to a report released by the World Tourism Institute on July 10, Thailand received only about 16.8 million tourists in the first half of 2025, down from 17.7 million during the same period last year. Among them, the number of tourists from East Asia decreased by 24%, while the number of Chinese tourists, as a critical foundation of traditional tourism, plummeted by 34%.
Reports indicate that this is due to the depreciation of the yen, making travel to Japan more attractive. Additionally, Vietnam, another travel destination, has lower travel costs than Thailand, causing tourists to turn to other Asian countries. The report concludes: 'Thailand's tourism industry is projected to decline by 5% by 2025, highlighting the urgent need for market repositioning, enhancing tourist experience, and diversifying customer sources in a changing regional competitive landscape.'
'TouristDigiPay' program operation methods and regulatory measures.
To ensure financial stability and risk management, the 'TouristDigiPay' program will operate under the framework of a regulatory sandbox. The focus of this program is on 'exchange' rather than 'direct payment', explicitly prohibiting the use of cryptocurrencies directly as payment tools.
Foreign tourists wishing to use this service must follow the following process:
Account opening: Accounts must be opened with digital asset businesses regulated by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and electronic money providers regulated by the Bank of Thailand (BOT).
Identity verification: Users must pass strict 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) and 'Customer Due Diligence' (CDD) audits to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.
Exchange and payment: After completing verification, tourists can exchange their digital assets for Thai baht, deposit them into an electronic wallet, and make electronic payments through methods such as QR codes.
Naphongthawat Phothikit, senior official of the Thai central bank's payment systems and financial technology policy department, revealed that the central bank has collaborated with electronic money service providers to develop a 'Tourist Wallet' designed specifically for foreign tourists, providing convenience for those who have not yet established cross-border QR payment agreements with Thailand.
Strict risk management and consumption restrictions.
To prevent money laundering and other financial crimes, this program has several security measures in place, including spending limits, high-risk transaction restrictions, and cash withdrawal controls.
Consumption limits.
For merchants with card machines, the monthly spending limit for each tourist is 500,000 Thai baht (approximately 460,000 New Taiwan dollars); for general small merchants, the monthly spending limit is 50,000 Thai baht (approximately 46,267 New Taiwan dollars).
High-risk transaction restrictions.
Prohibited transactions in business locations identified as high-risk for money laundering by the anti-money laundering office.
Cash withdrawal restrictions.
Tourists cannot directly withdraw cash from the balance of their prepaid amounts. All remaining funds can only be withdrawn in one lump sum when closing the account.
Cryptocurrency payments as a new trend in tourism.
Looking globally, using cryptocurrencies to attract tourists or high-end customers seems to have become a trend.
Bhutan has partnered with Binance Pay to allow tourists to use cryptocurrencies for payment; the United Arab Emirates has also reached an agreement with Crypto.com to permit passengers to use cryptocurrencies to purchase tickets.
Although the Chinese government issued a severe ban in 2021, clearly stating that all cryptocurrency-related business activities (such as trading, exchanging, acting as a central counterparty for buying and selling, etc.) are considered 'illegal financial activities', this does not mean that Thailand's policy is completely ineffective in attracting Chinese tourists.
For those overseas Chinese or seasoned cryptocurrency players in the country, they already have assets in overseas exchanges. Moreover, the target audience for this strategy may not only be Chinese tourists; the more important strategic significance lies in 'expanding new customer sources', attracting young, high-tech, and high-consumption tourists from regions such as Europe, America, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia.
It is evident that Thailand's strategy undoubtedly aligns with this global trend, hoping to carve out a new path in the intense regional tourism competition.
Reference materials: cointelegraph, nationthailand.
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