Effectiveness of 'VAT refund for tourists' policy in stimulating expenditure of foreign tourists in Thailand (Thai)

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the ùVAT Refund for Touristsû (VRT) Policy in stimulating spending of foreign tourists in Thailand. Two groups of multiple regression models were carried out. The first group of multiple regression models aimed to examine if shopping expenditure of foreign tourists in Thailand significantly increased after the policy was imposed and the second group aimed to investigate if the influence of the change in the number of foreign tourists on the change in shopping expenditure increased after the policy was imposed. Based on the sample of 32 quarters, the analysis shows that after the policy was imposed, the shopping expenditure of foreign tourists in Thailand increased. Moreover, the influence of the change in the number of foreign tourists on the change in shopping expenditure of foreign tourists also increased, implying that the VRT is able to make foreign tourists spend more on shopping.