A plunging ruble, flight cancellations and money-transfer difficulties are prompting Russian and European tourists to cancel trips to Thailand, a blow to the Asian nation’s tourism-revival efforts.
The exclusion of many Russian banks from the SWIFT payments network has resulted in tour operators running into problems when making transfers, according to Charintip Tiyaphorn, co-owner of Pimalai Resort & Spa in Phuket. Some flights have been cancelled following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and many European airlines are re-routing to get to Southeast Asia, she said.
Russians were the largest group of travellers to Thailand in January and top applicants for…
