Russian exodus puts Thailand’s tourism rebirth at risk as Asia longs for absent visitors

[webfact]

A travel agency catering to Russian tourists is seen in Phuket, Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock

 

● Since the beginnings of its tentative reopening to tourists last year, Thailand has seen more visitors from Russia than from anywhere else

● But the war in Ukraine is sending them packing, as it bursts other Asian nation’s dreams, from Indonesia to Vietnam, of a swift tourism rebound

 

Vijitra Duangdee in Pattayaand Resty Woro Yuniar in Bali

 

In the first six weeks of 2022, more than 40,000 Russians poured into Thailand – tourists craving a sun-kissed shore far away from the harsh winter of home.

 

They were beckoned back to the beaches of Phuket, Koh Samui and Pattaya by a welcoming nation whose deflated economy was desperate for an economic lift, having felt the sting of billions of lost tourist dollars amid the pandemic.

 

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But then Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, and hopes of a quick tourist recovery for Thailand evaporated.

 

International sanctions have torn into Russia’s economy, slashing the value of the rouble, casting Russian banks adrift from global payments networks and marooning thousands of Russian tourists overseas.

 

Full story: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3170128/russian-exodus-puts-thailands-tourism-rebirth-risk-asia-longs

 

-- © Copyright South China Morning Post 2022-03-12

 

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[ThailandRyan]

It is not just the Russian exodus. The OP does not exactly tell the whole truthful story.  

[Thailand]

Said it on another thread. If Thailand wants tourists to come back no matter which country they are from revert to pre Covid entry restrictions- JOB DONE!

[Will B Good]

4 minutes ago, Thailand said:

Said it on another thread. If Thailand wants tourists to come back no matter which country they are from revert to pre Covid entry restrictions- JOB DONE!

Ban Russian tourists + drop covid restrictions.........now that's a winner.

[RandiRona]

Only risk to Thai tourism is Thai Pass and forced Quarantine BS...

[keith101]

I hope they do the right thing when they get home and spread the truth about what Putin is doing to Ukraine .

The only real way of stopping the war is to put Putin down permanently and forever in other words 6 ft under . 

[TooBigToFit]

The world is changing and Thailand isn't what it used to be. The Russians will be broke for a while and many westerners especially Americans have no real retirement. Hopefully, Thais will be wealthy enough soon to buy more of the beachfront property and condos and they can enjoy their own beach towns more.

[Pouatchee]

16 minutes ago, keith101 said:

The only real way of stopping the war is to put Putin down permanently and forever in other words 6 ft under . 

Unfortunately he will likely nuke the world before that happens. 

[Misterwhisper]

Not to worry.

 

TAT and the Tourism Ministry assured us all very recently that soon 10 million visitors from the Middle East will be pouring in thanks to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Saudi-Arabia (a country of 35 million, of which only 12 million are actually locals).

 

And then there still is the Thailand-India travel bubble that is going to bring in tens of millions more.

 

So... with these wonderful prospects, who cares about a measly 40,000 Russians and whether they stay or leave?   

[sammieuk1]

They were beckoned back to the beaches of Phuket, Koh Samui and Pattaya by a welcoming nation whose deflated economy was desperate for an economic lift, having felt the sting of billions of lost tourist dollars amid the pandemic

 

Got lost at the welcoming nation bit where are they talking about? back on track at the billions of lost tourist dollars though????

[ThailandRyan]

31 minutes ago, TooBigToFit said:

The world is changing and Thailand isn't what it used to be. The Russians will be broke for a while and many westerners especially Americans have no real retirement. Hopefully, Thais will be wealthy enough soon to buy more of the beachfront property and condos and they can enjoy their own beach towns more.

Americans, no pensions, really?  Tell me more....

[jollyhangmon]

 

... well, not only tourist related/dependant peasants but everyone's gonna feel the russian pinch, landlady's quite enraged, even wanted to learn some russian slurs, just in case.

She's getting a carport built and the steel beams just went up a 100% she says ... nothing fancy, some 10x10, some 5x10, certainly not stainless ...

On the bright side 'double' is easy enough to remember.

 

[2 is 1]

3 hours ago, keith101 said:

I hope they do the right thing when they get home and spread the truth about what Putin is doing to Ukraine .

The only real way of stopping the war is to put Putin down permanently and forever in other words 6 ft under . 

You can open your mouth in Russia and get 15 years prison sentence! You want tell some truth and spend next 15 years in Siberia? I dont think so!

[Enoon]

3 hours ago, TooBigToFit said:

The world is changing and Thailand isn't what it used to be. The Russians will be broke for a while and many westerners especially Americans have no real retirement. Hopefully, Thais will be wealthy enough soon to buy more of the beachfront property and condos and they can enjoy their own beach towns more.

"I fancy a weekend at the beach condo teerak."

"Ok I'll get the bike"

 

 

 

[daveAustin]

Forget the hard-faced Russians for a minute… Thailand still wondering why not many are coming when it still has convoluted entry! ????????????

[internationalism]

russians started to come in large numbers from the beginning of year, to escape incoming war.

Some of them did not expect an economic hardship and are forced back to sort out bank problems.

More would be coming, just to escape russian emergency laws, conscription, war taxes. But it would a fraction, maybe only some 10%, of what was happening for over 2 months.

[poskat]

how many different threads do we need about this topic.

 

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, poskat said:

how many different threads do we need about this topic.

 

Two more than Covid topics.

[spidermike007]

Rather irresponsible to blame the current crisis on the Russians or lack thereof. This was many years in the making. Covid was a bad hit, but the extremely timid response to Covid has been far worse here. They have utterly decimated and sabotaged the tourism industry. Thank Anutin, Prayuth and Phiphat for taking away millions of jobs from the Thai people. 

 

All said, it does not seem fair to Russian citizens, to have locked up their funds. Surely, there could have been a more reasonable way to accomplish these objectives. 

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

They were beckoned back to the beaches of Phuket, Koh Samui and Pattaya by a welcoming nation whose deflated economy was desperate for an economic lift, having felt the sting of billions of lost tourist dollars amid the pandemic.

Sounds like the tourist dollar is more than 20% of the GDP

[whereyougo]

Let THE Chinese come the rest of the world won't matter to much 

[Isaan sailor]

5 hours ago, TooBigToFit said:

The world is changing and Thailand isn't what it used to be. The Russians will be broke for a while and many westerners especially Americans have no real retirement.

Thanks, but we seem to get by OK.  Our government has its faults, we can see from afar.  But we also see an inverse currency relationship—when the Rouble sinks—the Dollar rises.

Edited March 12, 2022 by Isaan sailor

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, Isaan sailor said:

Thanks, but we seem to get by OK.  Our government has its faults, we can see from afar.  But we also see an inverse currency relationship—when the Rouble sinks—the Dollar rises.

Yes. The top 10% are doing well. The next 20% are living decent lives. 70% are struggling mightily to make ends meet, keep their homes, and keep up with skyrocking prices, ridiculous labor costs for anything you need to get done, and massive hyper inflation. If you do not own a home in America, and are not wealthy, woe is you. 

[Meat Pie 47]

6 hours ago, TooBigToFit said:

The world is changing and Thailand isn't what it used to be. The Russians will be broke for a while and many westerners especially Americans have no real retirement. Hopefully, Thais will be wealthy enough soon to buy more of the beachfront property and condos and they can enjoy their own beach towns more.

On what planet do you live?

[ivor bigun]

6 hours ago, Misterwhisper said:

Not to worry.

 

TAT and the Tourism Ministry assured us all very recently that soon 10 million visitors from the Middle East will be pouring in thanks to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Saudi-Arabia (a country of 35 million, of which only 12 million are actually locals).

 

And then there still is the Thailand-India travel bubble that is going to bring in tens of millions more.

 

So... with these wonderful prospects, who cares about a measly 40,000 Russians and whether they stay or leave?   

sorry ,cancell that the new surge is backpackers ,they will save the day

[vukovar77]

7 hours ago, RandiRona said:

Only risk to Thai tourism is Thai Pass and forced Quarantine BS...

Not only,but most important risk!

[JensenZ]

7 hours ago, keith101 said:

I hope they do the right thing when they get home and spread the truth about what Putin is doing to Ukraine .

The only real way of stopping the war is to put Putin down permanently and forever in other words 6 ft under . 

And how do you expect that to happen? He's not stupid. There's no person on this planet with more personal security. 

[Obiwan]

He got his own FSO troops which are equivalent to Hitlers SS.

[timendres]

2 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

Thanks, but we seem to get by OK.  Our government has its faults, we can see from afar.  But we also see an inverse currency relationship—when the Rouble sinks—the Dollar rises.

"The dollar rises" only relative to the decimated ruble. It has moved tiddlywinks against the THB. The current attack on the Russian banking system, and other weaponization of money and banking, puts the dollar's reserve status in jeopardy. More and more nations and individuals are becoming aware of the tenuous "stability" and "reliability" of owning USD. If the USD loses its precious reserve currency status, it will not be worth much.

[timendres]

8 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

And how do you expect that to happen? He's not stupid. There's no person on this planet with more personal security. 

The real risk to Putin is if the attack on the Ruble and on Russia's natural reserve exports becomes too expensive and costs the Russian oligarchs too much money. The average citizen is of no concern to Putin.