Thailand to fly in Russian tourists on chartered flights this High Season

Unlike several European countries launching travel bans on Russia, Thailand is welcoming tourists from the former Soviet state with open arms this winter. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) unveiled plans this week to fly Russian tourists into Thailand via regular chartered flights to boost tourism revenue this High Season, which runs from November to February.

In the years leading up to the pandemic, the Russian market generated a significant chunk of Thailand’s tourism revenue, Russians became the second largest international source market for Phuket’s tourism industry.

Even with the mounds of paperwork, money, quarantine and insurance involved in holidaying to Thailand when the borders crept back open during the pandemic, Russians were the first to download Test & Go/Thailand Pass and hop on a plane to Thailand.

However, since Russian President Vladimir…