A Russian tourist takes a selfie at Mai Khao beach in Phuket, Thailand. File photo: Reuters
● Money-transfer difficulties and flight cancellations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine have shaken Thai tour operators
● Russians were the largest group of visitors to the kingdom in January and some 1.5 million of them came in 2019 and spent US$3.3 billion
Bloomberg
A plunging rouble, flight cancellations and money-transfer difficulties are prompting Russian and European tourists to cancel trips to Thailand, a blow to the Southeast Asian nation's tourism-revival efforts.
The exclusion of many Russian banks from the Swift payments network has resulted in tour operators running into problems when making transfers, according to Charintip Tiyaphorn, co-owner of Pimalai Resort & Spa in Phuket. Some flights have been cancelled following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and many European airlines are re-routing to get to Southeast Asia, she said.
Russians were the largest group of travellers to Thailand in January and top applicants for new visas under a quarantine-free entry programme relaunched last month. About 1.5 million Russians visited in pre-pandemic 2019 and spent US$3.3 billion, the third-highest source of tourism revenue for the country, according to official data.
