Thailand attracts Russian tourists towards the former more. More people than before are also interested in buying a vacation home in the country.
More than 700,000 Russians traveled to Thailand between January and June of this year. There is a sharp jump in travel numbers from the same period last year, but the number of travelers is also clearly higher than before the pandemic in 2018.
Turkey is expected again this year 7 million Russian tourists, while last year there were just over 5 million of them. In 2018, there were slightly less than six million tourists.
These news give hints about where Russians will travel this summer during their vacations. This year, Russia’s war of aggression has begun to affect the travel opportunities of Russians more and more.
According to statistics, the five most popular destinations last year were Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Abkhazia occupied by Russia, Egypt and Thailand. The statistics do not tell the whole truth, because the numbers also include Russians who left their country.
In 2018, the countries were Turkey, Germany, Thailand, Italy and Spain, he says Russian travel website referring to figures from border authorities.
A researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Margarita Zavadskaya according to the statistics do not tell the whole truth because the Russian authorities count the traffic passing through Turkey as a holiday in the country.
However, there are flights to other countries via Turkey, so Zavadskaja also highlights the Maldives and Seychelles as popular holiday destinations this summer.
There’s still enough money
Since the start of the war, Russia’s rich have been put on the embargo list, and several European countries have tightened their visa restrictions for Russians.
However, the Western sanctions do not particularly affect vacations. The middle class can still afford to travel, and the richest five percent of Russians can go wherever they want.
According to Zavadskaja, the changes in tourism already started during the pandemic years. It is also good to understand that the majority of Russians may stay at home.
– According to a poll conducted last year, 70 percent of Russians do not travel abroad at all, says Zavadskaja.
If the number is real, it means that the majority do not actually travel outside their country.
However, according to the researcher, it is surprising how little the sanctions have affected the travel of the richest Russians.
– They have reduced their consumption only a little, which is disappointing, because the sanctions should in principle affect them, says Zavadskaja.
According to him, little is known about the travel habits and motives of this richest part of the population. For example, they have started traveling to the United Arab Emirates, where you can live more invisibly and in peace.
– Among them, there are various political opinions, says Zavadskaja.
Only the really rich travel in Europe anymore
The most visible change has taken place in European tourism since the start of the war.
– Traveling to Europe by the Russian middle class has dropped by more than 80 percent, says Zavadskaja.
According to him, for example, in Spain’s Catalonia, the number of Russian tourists has collapsed, and now only very rich Russians can travel there. Due to visa restrictions, traveling has become more complicated and expensive.
– Middle-class Russians may be enraged for a long time by not being able to see the sights of, say, Paris or Rome.
According to Zavadskaja, it clearly raises emotions among the highly educated in Moscow and St. Petersburg, who were already used to free travel and seeing important destinations for the civilized.
This may increase anti-Western sentiment, as the sense of loss may continue for a long time.
– They oppose the war, but are stuck in Russia for various reasons. They think they are being punished for no reason.
Properties are interesting in Thailand and Mariupol
According to Zavadskaja, the explosive number of Russians in Thailand is explained by the fact that a large part of Russian IT workers moved to the country.
– They can do their work anywhere.
Number of properties bought by Russians has grown rapidly in Thailand since the start of the Russian war of aggression. According to Thai real estate figures, 40 percent of vacation homes in Phuket were owned by Russians last year.
– This year, Russian citizens have been involved in 80 percent of housing transactions in Thailand, says Zavadskaja.
Apartments are for sale to Russian tourists even in the middle of the war.
Russians are buying apartments in Ukraine’s occupied Mariupol, according to Russian independent media Bumaga.
On the other hand, he traveled to the Crimea region last year 19 percent fewer Russians than in 2021.
According to the researcher, the bridge strikes by Ukraine have scared tourists away from the area, which became popular among tourists after 2014.
– Traveling to Crimea is a decision that divides opinion among Russians, says Zavadskaja.
According to him, people who have been to war zones, for example in Mariupol, describe the conditions in discussion groups in a dark way, but at the same time write an embellished truth about their trip.