“Yameen” agrees with separating the Ministry of Sports from Tourism, urging management to keep pace with the cost of living; the 600-baht daily allowance dates back to when a bowl of noodles cost 35 baht.
On 10 Mar 2026 GMT+7, the Bhumjaithai Party proposed merging Tourism with the Ministry of Culture, viewing Thailand as a multicultural nation not yet fully leveraging its potential.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Sports would be separated to focus specifically on sports development, aiming to advance sports excellence. The party expects to propose legal amendments to the parliament within six months.
Recently, Yameen Krisada Nilsawai, a member of the Thai men's national volleyball team, expressed support for this idea but requested that management align with current living costs.
“I heard about the plan to separate the Ministries of Tourism and Sports. I think it’s good. The tourism budget should go to tourism, and the sports budget to sports, but please manage it according to living costs. The 600 baht allowance should be increased, and it would also be good to raise the budget for professional sports.”
Previously, Yameen shared concerns about the national athletes’ daily allowance, which has not been raised for a long time. After deductions for accommodation and other expenses, athletes are left with only 600 baht per day—an amount unchanged for decades. He illustrated that over his 16 years of service, from earlier generations to now, living costs have doubled; for example, a bowl of noodles that used to cost 35 baht now costs 70 baht. Therefore, he urged for an allowance adjustment to better reflect current economic conditions.