THAILAND has been crowned as one of the main beneficiaries of the recent surge in Russian outbound travel, according to the Russian International Travel Monitor (RITM) released by Hotels.com yesterday.
In 2012, 35.7 million tourists from Russia travelled internationally, up from just 7.7 million in 2006. Thailand, in particular, has seen a sharp increase in Russian visitors in the past few years. This is reflected in the RITM, with two Thai destinations coming in the top 20 – Phuket at No. 11 and Koh Samui at No. 16.
The study also found that more than 75 per cent of hotels in Thailand experienced an increase in Russian visitors this year, and more than 90 per cent are expecting an increase over the next three years.
According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Russia is currently Thailand’s largest European source market. In 2012, 1.3 million Russians visited Thailand, and this is expected to increase by about 28 per cent per cent this year, to reach 1.7 million.
Johan Svanstrom, president of Hotels.com, said: “The meteoric rise of Russia’s outbound travel market is providing a welcome boost to hoteliers worldwide, with Russians among the highest spenders on hotel rooms globally.
“The rising size and spending power of middle class Russian travellers is a key driver behind this growth. Standing 104 million strong today, the group is set to account for 86 per cent of the country’s population by 2020, with a combined spending power of US$1.3 trillion.”
Apart from Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia have also recorded stellar growth from the Russian outbound market this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 21, 2013).
According to Hotels.com, hoteliers are now gearing up to welcome Russian travellers with tailored services like Russian TV channels, Russian-speaking staff and translated welcome materials.
