Bangkok: The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation is set to fully implement an E-Ticket system in marine national parks starting October 15, aiming to reduce revenue leakage and enhance transparency in service fee collection. This initiative will also extend to large national parks on land.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Atthaphon Charoenchansa, the Director-General of the department, highlighted the significance of the E-Ticket system as a mechanism to control revenue collection in national parks. Marine national parks such as Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi, Phang Nga, Surin, and Sirinat-which collectively contribute to half of the national park revenue-are scheduled to adopt the system. The transition will make ticket sales entirely digital, requiring tourists to purchase tickets via QR Code, online platforms, or kiosks available at park entrances.
The implementation is designed to align tourist numbers with the area’s carrying capacity, supported by additional infrastruct
ure like mooring buoys, barrier buoys, floating piers, CCTV cameras, and card scanning systems. This is particularly essential in marine parks that lack inspection gates similar to those in land parks. The National Park Department’s policy aims to manage over 73 million rai, or 23% of the country’s area, balancing conservation, tourism, and research through six strategic guidelines. These include organizing areas based on potential, setting tourist carrying capacities, enforcing park regulations, enhancing staff efficiency, developing facilities on Universal Design principles, and promoting local participation by sharing 5% of income with local administrative organizations.
Mr. Chitchanok Sukmongkol, Deputy Director-General of the department, reported that between October 2024 and April 2025, national parks welcomed 11.74 million tourists, marking a 2.36% increase and generating an income of 1,551.39 million baht, a 2.6% rise. The 2025 budget, amounting to 2,199.72 million baht, has been utilized by 99.19%,
with allocations to regular and mission expenses. The budgetary criteria for national parks in 2015 were approved at 99.19% of the 2,181 million baht budget, distributed among local administrative organizations, park management, conservation and restoration efforts, and urgent reserves.
The department is enhancing welfare for forest rangers, increasing compensation in cases of death from clashes or wildlife attacks to 1 million baht, and in other cases to 500,000 baht, with disability assistance up to 1 million baht. There are currently 18,533 rangers nationwide. According to Mr. Ariya Chuea-chom, Director of the National Park Office, the E-Ticket system aims to address card fraud issues, especially involving tour companies exploiting Thai price tickets for foreign tourists. The system will verify the actual tourist count against system data, imposing fines for discrepancies.
The department is advancing the development of E-National Park, targeting the expansion of the E-Ticket system to incorporate 133 nat
ional parks, both marine and land, by integrating with the ThaiID database. This integration will streamline information entry and identity verification, supporting multiple payment platforms for user convenience. Additional funding from sources like the National Anti-Corruption Commission is being sought to support this nationwide system development. Mr. Atthaphon emphasized that national park income is crucial for the department’s mission, with stringent measures against leakage or corruption, and invited external agencies to conduct inspections at every step.