The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is planning to launch their own cryptocurrency called TAT coin, according to a report by the Indian Express on November 27. The launching of this coin is part of the initiative to attract wealthy crypto investors to the ‘cryptourism’ campaign that aims to give Thailand’s tourism a boost and gain back the industry’s $80 billion loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The groundwork for TAT was first discussed on September 29 with the Thailand Stock Exchange in hopes of capitalising on the growing cryptocurrency market. In a report by Bangkok Post on November 24, Jirayut Srupsrisopa, the founder and CEO of the number one crypto exchange site in Thailand called Bitkub, told the press that the private cryptocurrency industry in Thailand is willing to back the TAT coin. He even went into saying that they are only waiting for the government to ‘press the button by enacting the laws’.
Srupsrisopa mentioned that the launching of TAT could ‘help the National GDP of Thailand grow up to six times by strengthening the crypto market’.
TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said in an interview with Bloomberg on November 27 that ‘There are people who have become wealthy from holding digital currencies and they may want to use the wealth they have acquired. If they can use their currencies here (in Thailand) without having to exchange it or be faced with government taxes, then it would create convenience for them.’
Just like Srupsrisopa, Yuthasak also suggested that the country would recoup 80% of their pre-pandemic loss if the country could attract crypto holders since ‘crypto is the future’ and Thailand needs to be a crypto-positive society if they want to welcome this group of ‘quality’ tourists.
Yuthasak also said that the authority of Thailand already plans on setting up a new unit by 2022 to handle the issuance of the TAT token. The plan was already discussed with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and Bitkub Online since it is the largest crypto exchange platform in the country.
The plan for the new unit is expected to build a new ecosystem of tourism for the country and boost Thailand’s tourism to new heights.