Numbers of tourists from Russia falling by the minute

[sabaii69]

I will certainly miss them but am willing to accept a 95% loss in Russkie tourists

[brain150]

Just to get his onto a bit more of reality:

For the last 100 years there was only one solution for the financial problems of the UK and the US: WAR !!!

Now they need a BIG one again as they can no longer hide their biggest problem: being BROKE !!!

[just like most of the rest of the world !]

As Russia is turning away from the west towards BRICS [most of all China and India] and as such away from the US Dollar

there is no other option for the west [especially the US and the UK] to try to stop this !

As a result they now try to bring down the Russian Currency and with it the Russian Government !

[the economy in Russia is far stronger than any western economy based on simple numbers !]

Europe needs Russia much more than Russia needs Europe !

For Thailand this is simple:

The Russian tourists are a thing of the past !
The european tourists numbers will also decline as a result of the downturn in the european economies

[unemployment rates in europe are just sky rocketing .... even though the propaganda media tries hard to

show a different picture]

Japan is down on it's knees with Depth / GDP levels higher than Greece !

Thailand [just like the rest of the globe] is in for a pretty tough ride in 2015++

We might get used to it and maybe we can stop this really stupid talking about "quality" tourists against

any other tourists .... if neither come to Thailand then Thailand has a huge problem ! [and not only Thailand].

[sabaii69]

Tough, they only have themselves to blame - well Putin and his idiotic invasion of Ukraine

Putin didnt invade Ukraine. What do watch? Fox News the BBC perhaps. The US and EU where behind a coup that overthrew a democraticly elected government (not the first time). And then lie as if Russia was the bad guy. Its the reverse. Crimea is 90% Ethnic Russian and voted to remain part of Russia. I hope Russia stand up to these bullies and that there economy turns round.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, this short term pain for Russia will be longer term gain: the shift to China for trade, freeing itself from USD ties with a greater focus on RMB denominated activity= backfire on US and Europe. It may take a while but the Russians will be back.

And not too smart of Europe to follow the US in sanctions messing with a neighbor that is important for the gas supply to many parts of Europe. That gas now goes to China too.

Why should the US care about Russian gas? We have plenty in the USA, what with democrats creating so much...

[Dannybigboy]

Putin has really screwed up this time and that will now affect ordinary Russians....not good for them of course !!

At the same time.....they dont really fit in with the other international Tourists visiting Thailand, last year I Went to Phuket and tried to have a chat on several occasions with partying russian....they looked at us....not very interested....and continued their own party.....that was strange !! Can anyone explain this behaviour ????

[sambum]

Thais are punch drunk. They keep taking it on the chin staggering around the ring, shocked and dismayed that another opposition punch has landed on the kisser. They can't understand it. The Thais are befuddled. This all comes as a surprise. They don't read the news nor have a clue as to what is going on in the world. The Thais can't understand why others don't show up in droves lapping like hungry dogs for their sure fire "lures."

No problem! Numbers of arrivals down by 20% - just apply the usual Thai barowners' logic and put the prices up by 20% - Simples!!!

After reading these two comments I have a new definition for the word "simple"....................

T.I.C. (Tongue In Cheek)

[MobileContent]

Agree about the lager louts but it won,t break my heart to see most of the Russians gone. Ask any Thai about their opinions of the Russians and some other types of foreigners and you will get an ear full. Yea they might love your money but not your overall personality and i would have to agree with them. Negative perhaps but it is the truth. Maybe one of the reasons for foreigners getting taken advantage of. Show disrespect towards the Thais and they will find a way to get even. Respect them, respect their customs, respect their laws, respect THEIR country and guess what no problems.

Cheap, low spending arrogant Russians welcomed in their hordes - what did you expect from a nation that hasn't travelled anywhere before ? This is karma after ignoring the previous 30 years of higher spending Western Europeans , can already see problems with new wave of Chinese - just ask airline / check in staff !!

Taking the fast buck rarely works.

Give them a copy of culture shock ! Bangkok at airport arrivals

20-30 years ago their were only European, Northern Americans and Australians/Kiwis coming to Thailand and the Thai's never ignore that market. The issue is that you can only attract a certain number of tourists to Thailand but they do not outnumber the numbers of Russians, Chinese or Indians even if TAT invest a billion dollars in advertising in your so-called Western countries. Russians have been flooded with money because of the low taxes they pay on their income compared to Western countries.

I don't believe your rubbish that the Russians never traveled before and came first to Thailand. They have been flooding 10 years ago the Egyptian and Turkish destinations in big numbers before they traveled to Thailand.

[Jingthing]

As long as their money is worthless Russian international tourism will decline everywhere. They'll do domestic holidays if that.

[Yann55]

Russia faces the perfect storm. I'd feel sorry for them if it weren't for the fact that support for Putin is so strong. Reap as ye sew.

Support for Putin is strong because he's a devious politician who knows all the tricks in the book and he's now using the oldest one, the 'us against them' routine. Them being the foreigners and in particular the Westerners, them being the homosexuals, them being the Muslims, them being the people in regions formerly controlled by the USSR and now openly fed up with Big Bully. Etc.

Putin does what demagogues do : he uses basic human reactions of fear in order to gather support for himself as the potential savior. Like in any other country (and that includes Western countries), a large majority of people are not educated enough to think out of the box, which is why demagogy always works.

Demagogy is the nemesis of democracy and no one, for the moment has found an antidote, except of course education.

If a clever politician with no morals and an unlimited craving for power reaches the right position, he can and will manipulate the 'masses' because 1/ he knows how to do it and 2/ they can be manipulated, it's not complicated.

That's why the only solution to counter demagogy is education. And that's why, in countries where the self-appointed elite does not want to implement democracy (no matter how much they claim to do so) because they fear that it would rob them of their power and their wealth, 'the masses' are carefully and deliberately kept away from real education. I think many people here will know what I'm talking about.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Yann55

[sabaii69]

Just to get his onto a bit more of reality:

For the last 100 years there was only one solution for the financial problems of the UK and the US: WAR !!!

Now they need a BIG one again as they can no longer hide their biggest problem: being BROKE !!!

[just like most of the rest of the world !]

As Russia is turning away from the west towards BRICS [most of all China and India] and as such away from the US Dollar

there is no other option for the west [especially the US and the UK] to try to stop this !

As a result they now try to bring down the Russian Currency and with it the Russian Government !

[the economy in Russia is far stronger than any western economy based on simple numbers !]

Europe needs Russia much more than Russia needs Europe !

For Thailand this is simple:

The Russian tourists are a thing of the past !

The european tourists numbers will also decline as a result of the downturn in the european economies

[unemployment rates in europe are just sky rocketing .... even though the propaganda media tries hard to

show a different picture]

Japan is down on it's knees with Depth / GDP levels higher than Greece !

Thailand [just like the rest of the globe] is in for a pretty tough ride in 2015++

We might get used to it and maybe we can stop this really stupid talking about "quality" tourists against

any other tourists .... if neither come to Thailand then Thailand has a huge problem ! [and not only Thailand].

The UK should be ashamed starting those WWI and WWII wars for financial reasons. The USA couldn't wait for more wars and attacked Japan because...........This logic is pretty stupid=no 'brains'

[istinspring]

Agree about the lager louts but it won,t break my heart to see most of the Russians gone. Ask any Thai about their opinions of the Russians and some other types of foreigners and you will get an ear full. Yea they might love your money but not your overall personality and i would have to agree with them. Negative perhaps but it is the truth. Maybe one of the reasons for foreigners getting taken advantage of. Show disrespect towards the Thais and they will find a way to get even. Respect them, respect their customs, respect their laws, respect THEIR country and guess what no problems.

According to what i heard from decent amount Westerners, most/many of them think about Thais as about second class humans. I wonder if it is a kind of "respect" they show to people of the country they visit.

Ask any Thai about their opinions of the Russians

They don't care in most cases. And moreover even concerned since number of tourists is reduced, it will not have big impact to economy overall but some destinations are pretty dependent from tourists from Russia.

Not anytime soon with even Putin conceding oil may well drop down to $40 USD a barrel this coming Summer..but the Russians do have another trump card up their sleeve..Gas!

oil and gas sector accounted for 16% of the Russia's GDP. You better to read less apocalyptic keekwai around internet.

Edited January 2, 2015 by istinspring

[Runamile]

Tourist economies, in general are in for a bad time.

Thailand's position, though, is particularly weak through its rising reputation for violence and criminality, with tourists particularly involved. The Western media is not allowing this to be forgotten.

Additionally, Thailand's position is weak through the ongoing belief in Thailand that Thailand is Amazing (now, rapidly gaining a different meaning), something that all Thais simply know. It's kind of God-given.

It's good to have self-belief, but when it means you do no competitor analysis, disastrous, eg:

Visas - try Cambodia.

Beaches - try the Carribean

Non-specific Thainess, yes try Thailand, but, whilst ordinary Thais are often the nice people they always were, that may be less true of the Thais tourists actually interact with - taxi and tuk tuk drivers, jet ski guys, etc, etc.

[tullynagardy]

I have said it before in these forums and I will say it again, th Russians are nasty pieces of work.

So sad so many on here base their opinion on a nation of some 150 million on their experience of package holidays makers in Pattaya.

In a recent job I had in London I worked with countless Russians, here`s my experience -

- Incredibly cultured. Quite often I felt uncomfortable as they talked about ballet or opera which are massive in Moscow and they loved seeing in London.

- Well mannered. (ladies first, thankyou to waiters etc)

- A good laugh and dry/dark sense of humour that really appealed to me,

- Hard workers.

It`s a bit like going to Benidorm and seeing the excesses of the UKs working classes on holiday, then declaring all English are yobs.

Finally, in the couple of times I`ve visited Pattaya the only loutish behaviour I saw was from Europeans. The Russians I saw were mostly families quietly walking around the streets. Northern Ireland (where I hail from) where actually playing Russia in football the last time I was there and i sat in a bar full of them supporting the opposition. I even got drinks bought for me!

[sambum]

Putin has really screwed up this time and that will now affect ordinary Russians....not good for them of course !! At the same time.....they dont really fit in with the other international Tourists visiting Thailand, last year I Went to Phuket and tried to have a chat on several occasions with partying russian....they looked at us....not very interested....and continued their own party.....that was strange !! Can anyone explain this behaviour ????

Ignorant arrogance! I used to hold the door open for Russian familes coming into/coming out of supermarkets etc but not any more! Manners cost nothing, but most Russians I have encountered don't even know how to nod their heads as an acknowledgement of thanks. So open the door yourself, Boris, and I hope you drop your bottle of vodka while you are doing it!

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed.

[blazes]

My experience of Ruskies? Had a few beers and pool comp with a gaggle of them. They spoke pretty good English and I had a good laugh. I flew with a Russian airline once (and survived). Plane was obviously full of Ruskies. Very polite and friendly passengers, although they applauded the pilot/crew on landing in Moscow which was strange (and a little amusing).

Mind you, they probably all weren't the types to live in Pattaya. Pattaya is a city of vice and crime. It attracts all types of criminals and sex pests. Of all nationalities (not everyone of course, but you get my drift).

Actually over the EU they tend to applaud when landing, too. It is strange if you haven't seen that tradition before. It's kind of nice in a way.

Surely the applause is on account of the appalling safety record of Russian commercial aviation.

So, any plane actually making it to land again brings out a huge outburst of relief.

[istinspring]

Russia faces the perfect storm. I'd feel sorry for them if it weren't for the fact that support for Putin is so strong. Reap as ye sew.

Support for Putin is strong because he's a devious politician who knows all the tricks in the book and he's now using the oldest one, the 'us against them' routine. Them being the foreigners and in particular the Westerners, them being the homosexuals, them being the Muslims, them being the people in regions formerly controlled by the USSR and now openly fed up with Big Bully. Etc.

This show pretty clear that you don't know what you're talking about. First of all this thread is great demonstration of you "us against them" routine, global media just can't stop bashing Russia, sometimes there is more news about Russia in EU part of one huge social network then about EU. Muslims are a decent part of Russia's population if you didn't know. Homosexuals "problem" is exaggerated, large amount of states in USA had same laws just few years ago, or even still have it. Support is high for different reasons you barely will understand.

[Yann55]

Russia faces the perfect storm. I'd feel sorry for them if it weren't for the fact that support for Putin is so strong. Reap as ye sew.

Support for Putin is strong because he's a devious politician who knows all the tricks in the book and he's now using the oldest one, the 'us against them' routine. Them being the foreigners and in particular the Westerners, them being the homosexuals, them being the Muslims, them being the people in regions formerly controlled by the USSR and now openly fed up with Big Bully. Etc.

This show pretty clear that you don't know what you're talking about. First of all this thread is great demonstration of you "us against them" routine, global media just can't stop bashing Russia, sometimes there is more news about Russia in EU part of one huge social network then about EU. Muslims are a decent part of Russia's population if you didn't know. Homosexuals "problem" is exaggerated, large amount of states in USA had same laws just few years ago, or even still have it. Support is high for different reasons you barely will understand.

... and your reply is a perfect illustration of the Russian paranoia I was talking about and on which Putin is capitalizing. Thank you for proving my point and Happy New Year, tovaritch.

Edited January 2, 2015 by Yann55

[spidermike007]

Putin has really screwed up this time and that will now affect ordinary Russians....not good for them of course !! At the same time.....they dont really fit in with the other international Tourists visiting Thailand, last year I Went to Phuket and tried to have a chat on several occasions with partying russian....they looked at us....not very interested....and continued their own party.....that was strange !! Can anyone explain this behaviour ????

Ignorant arrogance! I used to hold the door open for Russian familes coming into/coming out of supermarkets etc but not any more! Manners cost nothing, but most Russians I have encountered don't even know how to nod their heads as an acknowledgement of thanks. So open the door yourself, Boris, and I hope you drop your bottle of vodka while you are doing it!

Decades of Marxist and Leninist indoctrination. They were discouraged from being friendly or helpful to strangers, and even neighbors at the highest levels. They are attempting to unlearn this preposterous lack of social skills, but that may take decades. When your education comes from guys like Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, etc., you just learn to believe rubbish. Now, some realize the level of insanity these pigs possessed. How to erase the nonsense? They are an extraordinarily cold and unfriendly lot.

[sambum]

I have said it before in these forums and I will say it again, th Russians are nasty pieces of work.

So sad so many on here base their opinion on a nation of some 150 million on their experience of package holidays makers in Pattaya.

In a recent job I had in London I worked with countless Russians, here`s my experience -

- Incredibly cultured. Quite often I felt uncomfortable as they talked about ballet or opera which are massive in Moscow and they loved seeing in London.

- Well mannered. (ladies first, thankyou to waiters etc)

- A good laugh and dry/dark sense of humour that really appealed to me,

- Hard workers.

It`s a bit like going to Benidorm and seeing the excesses of the UKs working classes on holiday, then declaring all English are yobs.

Finally, in the couple of times I`ve visited Pattaya the only loutish behaviour I saw was from Europeans. The Russians I saw were mostly families quietly walking around the streets. Northern Ireland (where I hail from) where actually playing Russia in football the last time I was there and i sat in a bar full of them supporting the opposition. I even got drinks bought for me!

Obviously you have found the "quality tourists/workers" that are in such short supply from Russia.

[mopar71]

bad news if your a tourism business that depends on these nationalitys

the statements by some TV members is mind boggleing about Russia and putin ...i suggest swithing off CNN then reserch what you think you know

about>

couple of hints

George Sorros, UN , IMF, US military build up in Europe, US citizen to be Ukraines new PM

Of course, it HAS to be all about America!

Because there is no way that the people of Ukraine were tired of a kleptomaniac running ruining the country, funneling billion$ in gov't contracts to his son the dentist.

There is no way that after decades of corruption at levels that would make a Thai policeman blush that the Ukrainian people would prefer closer ties to the EU than to Russia, a country run by the world's biggest kleptomaniac/oligarch.

The people of Ukraine just can't decide anything for themselves. It must be the USA telling them what to do.

[khunpa]

I will miss the Russian tourists. Some of their women look extremely sexy and functions as great eye-candy, when on the beach.

Never understood, why they hang out with bull-dog looking guys in strange clothes and with bad hair cuts?

I hope they come back (at least the women)...

[twix38]

It's not right to generalise - usually.

There are good and bad in all countries, but I must say I welcome less Russians from my experience of them.

Also a German friend from the old East Germany has the view that Russians are arrogant a-holes and along the bottom rung of the human ladder.

There is a condo project that has an unofficial policy not to sell to Russians. Their reputation really is low because it's based on a collective generalisation of their manners and how they behave and each of us basis our opinion on personal experience. I am not in the least shocked that we nearly all get to experience a similar encounter to have so many of us with the same viewpoint - the fewer Russians, the better.

[Andre0720]

It does not seem to say if it is good news or bad news....

[mopar71]

most of them are families

shame really much more pleasant than the tattooed lager louts

and some good eye candy

I noticed the same on Samui. The only downside to the beautiful Russian women is that they had husbands and kids with them.

[tullynagardy]

I have said it before in these forums and I will say it again, th Russians are nasty pieces of work.

So sad so many on here base their opinion on a nation of some 150 million on their experience of package holidays makers in Pattaya.

In a recent job I had in London I worked with countless Russians, here`s my experience -

- Incredibly cultured. Quite often I felt uncomfortable as they talked about ballet or opera which are massive in Moscow and they loved seeing in London.

- Well mannered. (ladies first, thankyou to waiters etc)

- A good laugh and dry/dark sense of humour that really appealed to me,

- Hard workers.

It`s a bit like going to Benidorm and seeing the excesses of the UKs working classes on holiday, then declaring all English are yobs.

Finally, in the couple of times I`ve visited Pattaya the only loutish behaviour I saw was from Europeans. The Russians I saw were mostly families quietly walking around the streets. Northern Ireland (where I hail from) where actually playing Russia in football the last time I was there and i sat in a bar full of them supporting the opposition. I even got drinks bought for me!

Obviously you have found the "quality tourists/workers" that are in such short supply from Russia.

Unlike the hoards of Western Europeans lining Pattays bar stools who tend to be the main protaganists when criticising Russians. Realistically they are just pissed their adult disneyland now has families with a less deviant purpose of their holiday.

[pegman]

Blame Putin for the ills of the world as cover once again by the evil empire.

http://www.newsweek.com/oliver-stone-meets-toppled-ukrainian-president-accuses-cia-sparking-coup-295814

[tullynagardy]

And you really show your intelligence level by implying that Afghanistan and Syria have oil.

"According to the International Monetary Fund, oil sales for 2010 were projected to generate $3.2 billion for the Syrian government and account for 25.1% of the state's revenue."

I wish i could be intelligent like you

[stevehaigh]

24.6% drop for 2015. wow, that is a very specific projection. wonder if they would like to predict the stock market too?

[mopar71]

Tough, they only have themselves to blame - well Putin and his idiotic invasion of Ukraine

Putin didnt invade Ukraine. What do watch? Fox News the BBC perhaps. The US and EU where behind a coup that overthrew a democraticly elected government (not the first time). And then lie as if Russia was the bad guy. Its the reverse. Crimea is 90% Ethnic Russian and voted to remain part of Russia. I hope Russia stand up to these bullies and that there economy turns round.

90% Ehtnic Russian because stalin screwed so many of them.

It was only just over 60% but that still constitutes a majority in a democracy. In addition a lot of Ukrainians in Crimea were smart enough to see that the EU is just making false promises and they would be better off with Russia - in particular in long run. The sanctions are hurting badly but just wait till they backfire on Europe.

And the good news is that the Russians have their old favourite holiday destination back again...

Yet Russian tourists stayed away this past summer. The beaches of Crimea were empty. That should change in 2015 since Russians can't afford to go anywhere else on holiday.

[mopar71]

.

Edited January 2, 2015 by mopar71