FILE PHOTO: Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration created on August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand will launch an 18-month pilot programme to allow foreign visitors to convert cryptocurrencies into baht to make payments locally, officials said on Monday, part of efforts to rejuvenate the country's critical tourist sector.
Conversions will be capped at 550,000 baht ($16,949.15) to test the system and prevent money laundering, Finance Ministry permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit told reporters, adding that the limit could be reassessed after the pilot period is over.
The initiative comes amid a decline in foreign tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.
Tourists will be able to make the conversions through Thai-based crypto exchange platforms, with the money then moving into online wallet applications so payments can be made to local businesses, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters.
"This project will support tourism," Pichai said, adding that it could also help increase tourist spending in the early stages.
Thailand's state-planning agency on Monday lowered its forecast for foreign tourist arrivals in the whole of 2025 by 10% to 33 million.
The projected number of foreign tourists is significantly lower than the pre-pandemic peak in 2019, when Thailand registered a record 39.9 million arrivals, generating 1.91 trillion baht ($58.86 billion) in revenue.
($1 = 32.4500 baht)
(Reporting by Kitipong Thaichareon and Chayut Setboonsarng, Editing by David Stanway)
