Russians the top demographic in Phuket, will likely remain so

Over the Christmas holiday, Russian tourists were the number 1 demographic in Phuket, and with the tightening restrictions on entry to Thailand except for the Phuket Sandbox, that trend is expected to continue into the New Year holiday and beyond. Before the whole Covid pandemic kicked off, pre-2019, Russians were already a major tourism force in Phuket. Now, after being allowed to re-enter in Thailand’s reopening, the Russian travellers are steadily climbing to become the top country for arrivals since the end of November.

Today it’s -9 degrees in Moscow.

Russians spending their cold winter months on a tropical island has been a mainstay of Phuket tourism for many years, with the trend continually increasing up until the Covid-19 pandemic shut down international travel. But now Russia is back in the top spot of incoming tourists with almost as many travellers coming this month…