A new government-backed tourism initiative, the “เที่ยวไทยคนละครึ่ง” (Half-Price Thailand Travel) project, faced a chaotic launch on its first day, July 1, 2025, as its registration systems collapsed under the weight of eager public demand with notification popping up to inform of system error written in Thai.
The widespread failure has sparked significant public outcry, with many questioning why the government and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) abandoned a previously successful platform for a new, faulty one.
The project, spearheaded by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), opened registrations for the general public at 08:00 AM via both its dedicated website, www.เที่ยวไทยคนละครึ่ง.com, and the “Amazing Thailand” mobile application. However, users were met with immediate problems: the application displayed an unhelpful “Error: Something went wrong” message, rendering it unusable, while the website directed users to download the ThaiID app for identity verification but then failed to allow them to log in. This prevented a large number of citizens from registering for their benefits as planned.
This problematic launch has led to strong criticism from the public, who point to the stark contrast with a similar prior initiative, “เราเที่ยวด้วยกัน” (We Travel Together). The “Half-Price Thailand Travel” project is a continuation of the “เราเที่ยวด้วยกัน” scheme, which was successfully implemented in 2020 under the government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha. During that time, the www.เราเที่ยวด้วยกัน.com website proved highly stable and capable of handling a massive volume of users, accommodating over 1 million registrants on its opening day without issue.
Many users are now questioning why the government and TAT chose to develop a new, seemingly inadequate platform instead of reusing the proven, efficient system that already possessed a foundational database.
The “Half-Price Thailand Travel” project aims to support the tourism sector by offering substantial subsidies for accommodation bookings. Specifically, it provides:
- 50% support for hotel stays in major tourist cities on weekdays, capped at 3,000 baht per room per night.
- 40% support for weekend stays in major tourist cities, also capped at 3,000 baht per room per night.
- 50% support for both weekday and weekend stays in designated “interesting cities.”
The project allows both the public to register for these benefits and tourism operators to register directly to participate.
In response to the chaos, Sorawong Thienthong, Minister of Tourism, has reportedly acknowledged the app crash and pledged to expedite a fix, hinting that there might even be an increase in the available rights under the scheme. Meanwhile, some private entities, such as ASIA, have already partnered with the project, hoping for a boost in bookings. Despite these assurances, the initial failure has undoubtedly cast a shadow over the “Half-Price Thailand Travel” initiative’s start.
