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

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

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Russian tourists sit on a beach on the Thai island of Phuket on March 8. Photo: Reuters

Vijitra Duangdeein PattayaandResty Woro Yuniarin Bali

Published: 8:00am, 12 Mar 2022Updated: 9:05am, 14 Mar 2022

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.

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

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

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.

By the start of last week the number of Russians arriving in Thailand had collapsed to just a few hundred. Thai authorities estimate 8,000 are currently stranded across the country’s resorts, some fast running out of cash as money exchanges refuse to trade Russia’s currency – “RUB 0:000” is listed in exchange windows – and scrambling to get around blocked credit cards with cryptocurrency payments.

From Sri Lanka and Thailand to Bali and Vietnam, the economic impact of events far away is forcing Asia’s tourism-reliant businesses, from resorts to tour operators and jet ski renters to trinket stores, to scramble for new markets, just as they had reopened to old ones.

Sergey Malinin, a Russian tour operator based in the Thai resort town of Pattaya, saw a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel when the pandemic began to ease in Thailand. But then the war came to extinguish what optimism he had been able to muster.

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

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

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