Eliana Willis

The number of Russian tourists visiting Thailand is projected to significantly jump from 10,000 visits in 2021 to 435,000 in 2022, according to GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that tourism ministers in Thailand must now ensure they can capitalise on this demand by increasing direct flights from Russia and ensuring aspects such as card payments can be accommodated across tourist hotspots.
When looking at Cyprus, a top outbound destination for Russians prior to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, visitation to the island nation is projected to drop by 42.6% year-on-year (YoY) in 2022. Thailand could potentially cater for many of these Russian visitors that now deem the logistics of traveling to EU countries too difficult.
Ralph Hollister, Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Thailand is set to fully reopen its borders to international tourists this year with no need for a negative pre-departure PCR test. Additionally, it has not placed any restrictions on Russia concerning the ongoing geopolitical crisis with Ukraine. Although the number of Russian tourists traveling to Thailand is predicted to only be at 29.2% of pre-pandemic (2019) levels in 2022, the aforementioned factors will likely combine to create a staggering 4,421% YoY increase in Russian visitation to Thailand in 2022.”
According to GlobalData’s Q3 2021 Consumer Survey, 61% of Russian respondents stated they typically take sun and beach trips, with this type of trip being the most popular for this market. Thailand is world-renowned for its sun and beach product, with locations such as Maya Beach and Monkey Bay attracting tourists from across the globe. Cultural trips are also popular with this market, with 39% of Russians stating that they typically undertake this type of holiday. Thailand’s highly unique culture acts as a significant pull factor for international tourists with its Thai temples and palaces.
Thailand has acknowledged it now has a key opportunity to become a major destination for Russian travelers in the coming years. In May 2022, Thailand’s Minister of Commerce stated that Thai banks had displayed interest in Russia’s proposal to introduce the Mir payment system for Russian travelers in Thailand and pledged to coordinate with the appropriate Tourism and Transport ministries to facilitate direct flights from Russia.ADVERTISEMENTHollister concludes: “With Russian travelers spending a total of $22.5 billion in 2021, which placed Russia in the top 10 globally for total outbound tourist expenditure, Thailand could benefit significantly from the EU’s ban on Russian travel as the market is forced to change its preferred destinations due to the ongoing crisis.”
Thailand is considered Asia’s Leading Cultural Destination 2021 by World Travel Awards.

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The latest Economic Impact Report (EIR) from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, reveals that the U.S. travel and tourism sector is expected to make up 9.2% of the entire U.S. economy based on an average annual growth rate of 3.9% – nearly double the anticipated 2% growth rate of the U.S. economy overall.
According to the forecast, produced in partnership with Oxford Economics, between 2022 and 2032, jobs in the U.S. travel and tourism could grow at an average rate of 3.9% annually, representing a 47% increase from 2022 expected job levels.
Whilst the global tourism body welcomes the new National Travel and Tourism Strategy, which aims to ensure the future growth of travel and tourism in the U.S. and create new jobs, WTTC says only immediate action now can secure the long-term recovery of the sector and create more than 6.3 million jobs over the next decade.
For 2022, WTTC projects that the sector’s GDP contribution will grow by more than 42% versus 2021, reaching more than $1.8 billion by the end of this year and accounting for 7.6% of the entire U.S. economy.
By year-end, the global tourism body forecasts that employment in the sector could increase as much as 28%, reaching 13.5 million jobs nationwide, from a high of 16.8 million in 2019.ADVERTISEMENTINTERNATIONAL VISITOR SPEND MAY STALL U.S. SECTOR RECOVERY“The long-term recovery of the U.S. travel and tourism sector looks positive, bringing more than 6 million new jobs to the U.S. economy over the next 10 years,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO. “But the landscape is highly competitive, and the U.S. is losing out on international visitors.”
Simpson continued: “Full recovery of travel and tourism relies on a significant rebound of international travel. While the new National Travel and Tourism Strategy is a step in the right direction, 2021 was another difficult year for the U.S. economy and the millions of livelihoods who rely on it.
“Many countries’ travel and tourism sector is bouncing back to pre-pandemic numbers next year, but the U.S. is not expected to recover until 2025.”
Despite strong projected growth in employment and GDP contribution over the next 10 years, WTTC’s data indicates that pressure created by slow international traveller spending in the U.S. will continue to drive a significant performance gap in the sector’s recovery this year.
At the current pace of the recovery, the U.S. international spending would not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2025, showcasing the urgency of opening borders to international travellers.
In fact, international traveller spend to the U.S. remains far below pre-pandemic levels, resulting in a slower-than-expected recovery of international tourism revenue.
In 2021, international visitor spending grew a modest 1.4%, reaching $40.3 billion but falling far short of 2019’s total of $190.9 billion.

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For many years now, Vietnam has been a popular tourist destination – in fact, prior to the start of the COVID pandemic in 2019, over 18 million international tourists visited the country. Perhaps unsurprisingly, hundreds of thousands of foreigners also decided to make Vietnam their home. Although there is no official figure on the number of expats living in the country, a report from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs shows that as of April, 2021 there were about 101,550 foreigners working in Vietnam on a permanent basis.
Expats come from all over the world to make Việt Nam their home. VNA/VNS Photo
Which has got me thinking – why do so many people decide to make Việt Nam their home?
Stevie Willows from South Africa puts a lot of it down to the cost of living.
“The cost of living is cheap, [Việt Nam is] close to other Asia countries, so it’s easy to travel. Socialising is easy and cheap too,” he saidADVERTISEMENTIt’s no secret that the cost of living is a big factor for many expats living in Việt Nam.
Despite the average Vietnamese salary being around VNĐ7.8 million (US$336), in jobs like teaching where many expats are employed, wages start at around VNĐ30,000,000 ($1,300) a month.
This makes both the cost and quality of life very appealing to foreigners who are considering making Việt Nam their home, especially in comparison to the savings-to-outgoings ratio in most peoples’ home countries.
Kelsey Scheepers, also from South Africa, agrees: “Living costs are much more viable as opposed to my own country.”
However, while the cost of living is a big draw, it isn’t the only reason that many foreigners have made Việt Nam their home.
Others were drawn here by their work and didn’t expect to stay for so long.
Callum Maxwell is an Australian whose company posted him to Việt Nam, initially on a one-year contract. However, because of the culture, people, and food, he’s decided to extend his contract and stay for longer.
“I love the food that you can eat here, there are so many things that just aren’t available back home,” Callum said.
“I love seafood, especially things like fried eels, which you don’t see very often in Australia. That, combined with just how friendly and welcoming the people are, is a big reason that I’ve decided to stay in Việt Nam longer than I initially thought.”
For some, it is the incredibly diverse range of dishes on offer that has convinced them to stay in Việt Nam longer than they intended. VNS Photo Hồ Hoàng
Harriet Peterson from the UK has been in Hà Nội for a year, one of the few who arrived during the COVID pandemic. She only ended up in Việt Nam as her husband was offered a job here. While she only expected to stay for around six months, a year later she has no intention of leaving.
“I love it here, I really do. The people are so friendly and the way of living is so easy. A lot of people say that the language is too hard to learn, but I don’t agree. Of course, the tones are difficult to wrap your head around, but if you make the effort to try and speak the language, it really does go a long way.
“I think that is the single best piece of advice that can be given to someone who has just moved to Việt Nam – try and learn the language. You can’t really understand somewhere if you are limited to only speaking to people that speak the same language as yourself, a foreign language to them. Learn the language and you’ll have a much better, more complete experience here.”
His reasoning is mirrored by Maria Nicole, from the US. She has been here for five years, though that was never her plan before arriving.
“My advice to anyone who wants to come to Việt Nam is do it, just do it. You won’t regret it.”
The cost of living, high salary and savings potential are no doubt alluring for foreigners that have chosen to make Việt Nam their home. However, it is clear that while the pay and savings potential is a big draw that gets people here initially, it’s the quality of life, culture and ultimately the people of Việt Nam that convinces people to stay.
Vietnam is considered as Asia’s Leading Cultural City Destination 2021, Asia’s Leading Destination 2021 and Asia’s Leading Sustainable Tourism Destination 2021 by voters at World Travel Awards.

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