Lots of Russians stuck in Thailand.
The Russians are leaving! The Russians are leaving!
I was in the process of writing about the drop in Russian visitors to Thailand and the region as the result the devaluation of the ruble. Now it turns out that the plunge in January was more drastic than forecast, as the Bangkok Post reported March 20.
There were 46% fewer Russian arrivals in Thailand in January 2015 than the year before: 145,605 this year versus 269,479 in January 2014. While the December-January period is always Thailand’s high tourism season, bear in mind that tourism in early 2014 was depressed by Bangkok street rallies that ultimately led to the May military coup.
The huge January 2015 drop in Russian visitors followed year-on-year declines of approximately 27%, 23% and 21% in October, November and December, respectively, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. In the 4th quarter of 2013, there were more than 600,00 Russian visitors to Thailand, while in the 4th quarter of 2014 there were fewer than 200,000 according to the PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) mPower database.
Forbes Welcome