With sanctions shutting down most travel to Europe, Thailand is hoping to lure two million Russians next year
Tourists lounge under umbrellas along Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, March 11, 2022 © AP / Salinee Prab
Thailand’s state tourism board hopes to welcome two million Russians next year, the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday. With EU airspace off limits due to sanctions on Russia, Thailand is already seeing a boom in Russian visitors.
Thailand could hit this record number if it maintains its neutral position on the conflict in Ukraine and is considered a friendly country by Russian travelers, Khanittha Phanworawat, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Moscow office told the newspaper.
Phanworawat explained that while Thailand typically sees an influx of Russian visitors during the high season, Russians now visit Thailand all year round. Phanworawat attributed the rise to the EU’s sanctions policy, which closed the bloc’s airspace to Russian flights last March, making it considerably more difficult for Russians to visit once-popular vacation spots like Italy, Spain, and Greece.
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The EU also suspended a 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Russia last year, while some individual countries – namely Poland, Lithuania and Estonia – began outright refusing entry to Russians with Schengen area visas.
With Europe tightening the rules, Thailand has already seen 840,000 Russian visitors this year, ranking it among the top five choices for Russian holidaymakers. Phanworawat told the Bangkok Post that this number could reach 1.3 million by the end of the year, or match the record 1.48 million recorded in 2019.
Russians tend to stay longer and spend more money than other nationalities when in Thailand, Phanworawat said.
Thailand was the fourth-most popular destination for Russian tourists last year, behind Türkiye with 3.7 million trips, the United Arab Emirates with 900,000, and Egypt with 760,000.
Despite the TAT’s optimism, Phanworawat cautioned that Russian airlines do not yet have enough Thai flights scheduled to meet the increased demand, while Thai carriers primarily concentrate on short haul flights. Accordingly, she said that TAT will encourage more airlines to open Russia-Thailand routes, and promote Thai tourism via connecting flights.
