Currently, there are about 6,000 Russian and Ukrainian tourists in Thailand who cannot return home due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, reports NNT.
Mastercard and Visa earlier this week suspended services in Russia and cards issued in Russia including those being used abroad. The government is currently mulling over the use of cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional payments.
He stated that countries competing with Thailand for tourism, such as Turkey, Egypt, and Dubai, had altered their marketing strategies to lure Russian visitors throughout the crisis.
Thailand, the ambassador believes, should develop value-added items to diversify its tourism offerings.
In December, Russians were the largest group of tourists in Phuket. That month, about 17,000 of them came to the island. They were a significant part of tourism since the pre-COVID times. However, as of Monday, Phuket had only about 2,700 tourists from Russia.