- TouristDigiPay allows tourists to exchange crypto for baht through licensed firms.
- Strict rules limit spending and block risky businesses while ensuring QR payments’ safety.
- Tourism adds 12 to 15% of GDP, so that crypto spending could support the Thai economy.
Thailand has officially launched its “TouristDigiPay” sandbox, a nationwide system designed to let foreign visitors convert cryptocurrencies into Thai baht for everyday spending. The announcement came at a press briefing led by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, joined by officials from the Finance Ministry, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
According to The Nation, the program does not allow direct crypto transactions for goods or services. Instead, tourists exchange digital assets through licensed providers, with merchants receiving payments in baht using Thailand’s widely adopted QR payment infrastructure. The SEC clarified that cryptocurrencies cannot be used directly for purchases.
How Does the Sandbox Work?
Tourists participating in the scheme must open accounts with both licensed digital asset exchanges and regulated e-money providers. Once verified, their assets will be converted into Thai baht, which can be spent via QR codes at restaurants, shops, and hotels.
SEC Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon stated that the project “builds upon the existing ecosystem that integrates the digital asset trading system regulated by the SEC with the e-money system regulated by the Bank of Thailand.” She also noted that the scheme includes “appropriate risk management measures” to protect both tourists and local businesses.
TouristDigiPay enforces strict safeguards. Spending is capped at 500,000 baht per month for hotels and large merchants and 50,000 baht per month for small merchants. Transactions are blocked at businesses flagged as high-risk, while direct cash withdrawals remain prohibited. To comply with financial laws, Know Your Customer and Customer Due Diligence rules apply to both digital-asset operators and e-money providers, with oversight from AMLO.
Economic Importance and The Country’s Declining Tourism
Tourism forms an important element in the Thai economy, and contributes approximately 12-15 percent to the national GDP. However, the number of visitors has decreased in 2025. According to official statistics, in the first seven months of the year, there were 19.3 million foreign tourists who entered the country, down 6% year-on-year from 2024. The income earned through international tourism also declined by 4.2 % during the same time.
The drop can be traced among the Chinese tourists, who were the biggest portion of visitors in the past. The World Tourism Institute estimates that Chinese arrivals saw a decrease in the first half of 2025 by 34%, which constituted 24% of the overall decrease in East Asian arrivals.
Against this backdrop, Thai regulators hope TouristDigiPay will attract new categories of travelers, particularly crypto-savvy tourists, while channeling spending into local businesses. Officials see the sandbox as both a recovery tool and a test of whether digital assets can increase liquidity without sparking capital flight.
Related: Thailand Launches Crypto Sandbox for Tourist Spending
Regional Context and Global Race
Thailand is not alone in exploring crypto-enabled tourism payments. Countries like Bhutan, through its partnership with Binance Pay, and the United Arab Emirates, via Crypto.com, have followed the same steps to conceptualize digital assets into tourism economies. Yet Thailand’s approach stands out due to its regulatory structure, integration with its fintech infrastructure, and ambition to test crypto payments in a sector representing a big share of GDP.
The authorities will monitor TouristDigiPay, evaluate its acceptance and usage, volume of transactions, and the effects on local liquidity. A successful model could lead to regulators considering upscaling it to the rest of the country, making Thailand a pioneer in tourism innovation and regulated digital finance. The broader question remains whether this pilot scheme could truly ignite a “crypto-tourism race” throughout Asia.
