How to make your holiday spending count in Thailand

Where you spend your money can make a real difference when you travel in Thailand. Choosing a family-run restaurant, buying something made by a local craftsperson or booking an experience with a local guide can help more of your holiday spending stay within the places you visit.

And you benefit too. Spending locally often leads to some of the most memorable experiences of a trip: discovering a neighbourhood restaurant, chatting with a market vendor, learning about regional traditions or visiting a destination you might otherwise have overlooked.

That doesn’t mean you need to avoid large hotels, shopping centres or international businesses to travel responsibly. Instead, spread your spending around. Here are a dozen simple ways to make your holiday money have an even more positive impact.

Eat at locally owned restaurants

Eating local is one of the easiest (and most enjoyable) ways to support the places you visit. Thailand is filled with independent restaurants, family-run noodle shops, and hole-in-the-wall places specialising in just one or two dishes. Eating at these businesses puts money directly into the local economy and gives you the chance to try food you may not find in restaurants aimed primarily at tourists.

Look beyond the busiest tourist streets. A restaurant filled with local customers is often worth investigating, even if the menu is basic and few people speak English. Don’t worry about finding somewhere Instagram-famous either. Some of the best meals in Thailand are served in completely unassuming surroundings.

Shop at local markets

Thailand’s markets aren’t just places to buy things. They’re an important part of everyday life and one of the best ways to experience a destination’s atmosphere. Visiting the local fresh market in the morning can be particularly rewarding. You’ll see tropical fruit, vegetables, herbs, curries, sweets and regional ingredients alongside vendors selling prepared food to take away.

Night markets and weekend walking streets offer another chance to spend locally, especially when buying food, clothing, handicrafts, and souvenirs from independent traders. Rather than doing all your shopping in glitzy malls or convenience stores, make time for the local market. Even spending a few hundred baht on breakfast, fruit and snacks spreads your holiday spending among numerous small businesses.

Look for genuinely Thai-made souvenirs

Souvenirs have more meaning when there’s a story behind them. Thailand has a rich tradition of weaving, ceramics, basketry, woodwork and other crafts, alongside a growing number of independent designers producing contemporary clothing, artwork, jewellery and homeware.

If you’re unsure where something was made, ask. Products sold in tourist markets aren’t necessarily produced locally, even when they look traditionally Thai. Many towns and cities have a Walking Street Market which showcases locally produced goods, and you can often chat with the artisan who made the items.

Buying directly from craftspeople, cooperatives, community enterprises and independent Thai designers can mean a larger proportion of the purchase price reaches the people who created the product. And you’ll return home with something that genuinely reminds you of the place you visited.

Book an experience with a local guide

A good local guide can completely change the way you experience a destination. Rather than simply showing you the main sights, they can introduce you to local food, neighbourhoods, traditions and stories you might otherwise miss.

Options range from walking and cycling tours to trekking, kayaking, birdwatching, food tours and cultural experiences. When possible, look for locally based guides and small operators with strong connections to the area.

Booking directly can also mean more of what you pay reaches the person providing the experience, although reputable tour companies and booking platforms can still be useful for more complicated activities.

Try a community-based tourism experience

Community-based tourism gives visitors the opportunity to spend time in communities where local residents have a direct role in managing tourism.

Experiences vary enormously. You might stay in a homestay, learn traditional cooking, join a craft workshop, explore farmland, take a boat trip with local fishermen or discover the surrounding countryside with a community guide. When managed well, community tourism can distribute income across several households rather than concentrating it in a single tourism business. It’s also an opportunity to experience a different side of Thailand and learn more about local ways of life.

Remember that you’re visiting somebody’s home and community. Follow local guidance, ask before photographing people and approach the experience as a guest rather than as a spectator.

Consider independent accommodation

Thailand has accommodation at every imaginable level, from simple guesthouses and homestays to boutique hotels and luxury resorts. Choosing an independent property for at least part of your trip is another way to diversify where your money goes.

That doesn’t mean locally owned automatically equals responsible, or that you should avoid international hotels. Larger hotels employ Thai staff, work with local suppliers and can make significant contributions to their communities.

Instead, look at how an accommodation provider operates. Does it employ people locally? Does the restaurant use Thai ingredients? Does it recommend local businesses and guides? Does it have meaningful environmental or community initiatives? How a hotel operates can matter just as much as who owns it.

Lisu Lodge is one of many examples you can find in Thailand. The accommodation is part of a community-based tourism (CBT) project that strives to conserve the natural heritage of hill tribe communities in Chiang Mai province. Named after the Lisu hill tribe, the rooms combine traditional Lisu style with western comforts.

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Use local transport

Some of Thailand’s most memorable journeys don’t involve private transfers. Depending on where you travel, local transport might include songthaews, shared minivans, local buses, trains, ferries, longtail boats and other forms of public or shared transport. Using them can put money into locally operated services while giving you a more interesting view of everyday Thailand.

For a unique experience, use the local samlor drivers. These old-style bicycle rickshaws aren’t as common as they once were, but still operate in some locations like Chiang Mai. Taking a tour by samlor is a great way to see the city while directly supporting the drivers.

You don’t need to use local transport for every journey. Sometimes a taxi, domestic flight or private transfer will simply make more sense. But when it’s practical, taking the train or hopping aboard a songthaew can become part of the travel experience, not just a way to get from A to B.

Buy food and produce directly from local producers

Markets aren’t the only places to discover locally produced food. Depending on where you travel, you might encounter coffee growers in Northern Thailand, fruit orchards in the east, fishing communities in the south or small businesses producing everything from chilli sauces and curry pastes to chocolate and traditional sweets.

Buying directly from producers can provide additional income while giving you a better understanding of the destination. Look out for farm visits, community shops and locally produced specialities when travelling around the country. Some food items or snacks make excellent souvenirs. However, use common sense about what you can or can’t take back with you. Check UK/Irish customs regulations before packing anything prohibited.

Don’t haggle over every last baht

Bargaining is part of shopping culture in parts of Thailand, particularly at certain markets and when prices aren’t displayed. But that doesn’t mean every purchase needs to become a contest to secure the lowest possible price. If bargaining is appropriate, keep it friendly and good-humoured. If you’re arguing over 20 or 30 baht, consider what that amount means to you compared with the person you’re buying from.

There are also plenty of situations where bargaining isn’t appropriate. Restaurants, convenience stores, supermarkets, shopping centres and shops displaying fixed prices aren’t places to negotiate. A fair price should leave both buyer and seller happy.

Tip when it’s appropriate

Thailand doesn’t have the same tipping culture as other countries, and you generally aren’t expected to add a large percentage to every bill. Nevertheless, a small tip is appreciated in many tourism and hospitality situations, particularly when somebody has provided excellent service. 

Leaving some change at a restaurant, rounding up a taxi fare, or giving a modest tip to a particularly helpful guide, driver, or hotel employee can be a direct way to reward good service. Don’t feel obliged to tip everywhere. Treat it as a gesture of appreciation rather than a compulsory part of every transaction.

Spend some time beyond the major tourist destinations

One of the biggest ways to spread tourism’s economic benefits is to spread out geographically. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ko Samui and Phuket are among Thailand’s best-known destinations. And for good reason. There is nothing wrong with visiting them, but consider using them as a base and adding somewhere less familiar to your itinerary, too. Visiting Chiang Mai? Take a day trip to Lamphun or spend a weekend in Lampang. Staying in Phuket? Hop over to the Ko Yao islands for a change of pace. 

Thailand’s provincial towns and smaller destinations can offer excellent food, fascinating temples, national parks, traditional communities and a slower pace of travel. Staying for a few nights means paying for accommodation, meals, transport, and activities in places that receive a much smaller share of Thailand’s international tourism spending. It can also result in some of the most memorable parts of your trip.

Make small choices rather than seeking perfection

Responsible travel doesn’t have to mean analysing every baht you spend. You don’t need to investigate the ownership of every hotel, avoid every international company or feel guilty because you bought something from a shopping mall. Instead, look for easy opportunities to spread your spending.

Have breakfast at the neighbourhood noodle shop. Enjoy a fruit smoothie from the neighbourhood vendor. Buy mangoes from the market. Book a walking tour with a local guide. Pick up a handmade gift from a craftsperson. Stop for coffee at an independent café. Spend an extra night in a provincial town rather than rushing through it. Individually, these are small decisions. Together over a two-week holiday, they can represent a meaningful share of your travel budget.

More importantly, spending locally isn’t only about where your money goes. It can change the way you experience Thailand. Markets, independent restaurants, local guides, community tourism and smaller destinations can introduce you to people and places you wouldn’t encounter if every part of your trip followed the established tourist trail.

And that’s ultimately the best reason to spend more of your money locally. Doing it this way can benefit the communities you visit while making your own travels through Thailand more interesting, personal and rewarding.