The crisis in Europe also put a crimp in recovery plans for
the Southeast Asian nation’s tourism industry, which has hosted more visitors
from Russia than any of its neighbors before the pandemic hit.
There are about 6,500 Russian tourists stuck in Phuket,
Surat Thani, Krabi and Pattaya, four provinces that are popular seaside resort
destinations, in addition to 1,000 Ukrainians, Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of
the Tourism Authority of Thailand, told The Associated Press on Friday.
Some 17,599 Russians accounted for the largest bloc of
arrivals in February, representing 8.6% of a total of 203,970, according to the
Public Health Ministry. After the Feb. 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine, their
numbers drastically declined.
Yuthasak said the Russians face two main problems:
cancellations of their flights home by airlines that have stopped flying to
Russia, and suspension of financial services, particularly by credit card
companies that have joined sanctions against Moscow. There are also some who
prefer to delay their return.
“There are some airlines that still fly to Russia, but
travelers have to transit in another country. We are trying to coordinate and
search the flights for them,” Yuthasak said.
While almost all direct flights from Russia have been
suspended, connections are still available through major carriers based in the
Middle East.
He said efforts are also being made to find alternative
methods of payments for Russian tourists.
Siwaporn Boonruang, a volunteer translator for Russians
stranded in Krabi, said some cannot pay their bills because they can no longer
use Visa or Mastercard credit cards.
Many have cash and those with UnionPay credit cards, which
are issued by a Chinese financial services company, can still use them, but
payment by cryptocurrency is not allowed, she said.
Many hotels have helped by offering discounted rates, she
added.
Thailand’s government has offered 30-day visa extensions
without payment, and is trying to find low-cost alternative accommodation for
people forced to stay for an extended period.
The problems associated with the war in Ukraine have
compounded Thailand’s hopes for economic recovery. Officials hope to see the
threat from the COVID-19 pandemic ebbing by July, even though daily cases are
currently at record highs, driven by the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Thai authorities later this year expect to drop most
quarantine and testing regulations that have been in place to fight the spread
of the virus, which would make entry easier for foreign travelers.
Thailand may have to lower its targets for tourist arrivals
and revenues this year because of the knock-on effects of rising oil prices and
inflation on global travel, Yuthasak was quoted saying by the Bangkok Post
newspaper.
“Tourism is still a key engine to revive our economy, even
though revenue wvas stymied by negative factors,” he said.
According to the report, Thailand had projected gaining a
total of 1.28 trillion baht ($38.4 billion) in revenue this year from foreign
and domestic tourists. -AP
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